SAN DIEGO (dpa-AFX) - Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) Wednesday reported a 36 percent jump in first-quarter profit, aided by strong sales of its chips used in smartphones and other devices. The company's quarterly earnings and revenues easily topped Wall Street estimates.
Qualcomm also lifted its earnings and revenue outlook for fiscal year 2013, sending its shares up more than six percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.
CEO Paul Jacobs said MSM chip shipments for the quarter were impressive due to increasing demand for smartphones and its portfolio of 3G/LTE chipsets.
'Our broad licensing partnerships and extensive chipset roadmap, including our recently announced best-in-class Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 and 600 processors, position us well for strong growth, and we are pleased to be raising our revenue and earnings guidance for fiscal 2013,' said Jacobs.
Qualcomm sells baseband chips, which connect phones to cellular networks, to leading wireless device makers, and also licenses its code division multiple access technology. Sales for the quarter jumped 29 percent from last year, with CDMA Technologies revenue up 34 percent, and Technology Licensing revenues 22 percent.
The company shipped 182 million units of CDMA-based Mobile Station Modems (MSM) during the quarter, up 17 percent from last year.
The San Diego, California-based company reported first-quarter revenues of $6.02 billion, compared with $4.68 billion last year. On average, 35 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated revenues of $5.90 billion for the quarter.
The company reported quarterly net income of $1.91 billion or $1.09 per share, compared with $1.4 billion or $0.81 per share a year ago.
Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $2.20 billion or $1.26 per share, compared with $1.67 billion or $0.97 per share in the prior year. Thirty-two analysts on consensus expected earnings of $1.13 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
For the second quarter, Qualcomm expects net earnings of $0.98 to $1.06 per share, adjusted earnings of $1.10 to $1.18 per share, and revenues of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion. Analysts currently estimate earnings of $1.10 per share on revenues of $5.88 billion.
The company expects to ship 163 million to 173 million MSM chips during the quarter.
For the full year 2013, Qualcomm now expect net earnings of $3.61 to $3.81 per share, adjusted earnings of $4.25 to $4.45 per share, and revenues of $23.4 billion and $24.4 billion. The company had earlier estimated net earnings of $3.40 to $3.60 per share, adjusted earnings of $4.12 to $4.32 per share, and revenues of $23 billion to $24 billion.
Analysts currently expect earnings of $4.32 per share on revenues of $23.63 billion for 2013.
In December, market research firm International Data Corp. cut its global semiconductor revenue outlook for the full year 2013, citing, among other things, economic uncertainty, soft PC demand, and overall memory price deterioration.
For 2013, IDC has forecast worldwide semiconductor revenues to rise 4.9 percent to $319 billion. Previously, the growth was estimated at 6.2%. Bright spots for the semiconductor market include smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and automotive electronics, which IDC expects will continue to be key drivers of growth over the coming years.
Separately, Qualcomm announced the retirement of its Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer William Keitel, who will be replaced by George Davis, effective March 11. Davis currently serves as CFO of Applied Materials Inc.
During his nearly 13-year tenure with Applied Materials, Davis is credited with several leadership roles including corporate treasurer and head of the Corporate Business Development group. Davis will report to Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs.
Keitel will serve as special advisor to the CEO for the remainder of the calendar year.
Qualcomm closed Wednesday at $63.53, up 0.13%, on a volume of 14.7 million shares. In after hours, the stock gained $4.06 or 6.39%. In the past year, the stock has traded in a range of $53.09 - $68.87.
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