April 24, 2013, 5:37 p.m. ET
Qualcomm Revenue Rises 24%



By DON CLARK
Chip maker Qualcomm Inc. QCOM +0.99%continued to benefit from strong demand for mobile devices in its latest quarter, though profit fell 16% due to a large one-time gain in the year-earlier period.
The San Diego-based company said revenue jumped 24%, and projected a range for revenue growth in the current quarter with a midpoint of nearly 31%.
Qualcomm's results for its fiscal second quarter, which ended March 31, are the latest evidence of the health of the markets for smartphones and tablets compared with personal computers. Intel Corp., INTC +1.22%the leader in PC chips, last week said revenue slid 2.5% as consumers shifted dollars from laptop computers to newer mobile devices.
Among makers of mobile devices, Qualcomm has enjoyed particularly strong sales because of a head start in delivering modem chips that can use networks based on a technology known as LTE, for long-term evolution. A chip called Snapdragon, which combines wireless communications with microprocessor capabilities, is especially popular
Paul Jacobs, Qualcomm's chief executive, said in an interview that some 850 smartphones and other devices are in the process of development using Snapdragon. "The numbers are just enormous right now," he said.
But Stacy Rasgon, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said Qualcomm's earnings per share were a bit lighter than expected, apparently reflecting higher expenses. As a result, Qualcomm's shares fell in after-hours trading by nearly 6%, or $3.70, to $62.30.
Qualcomm's growth last year was hobbled by the difficulties of manufacturing partner Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. 2330.TW 0.00%in boosting production quickly enough. Those days are over, Mr. Jacobs said. "Supply is great," he said.
The company boosted its revenue projection for the fiscal year ending in September to a range of $24 billion to $25 billion versus, from prior guidance of $23.4 billion to $24.4 billion. The new figures point to annual growth of 26% to 31%.
For its latest quarter, Qualcomm reported a profit of $1.87 billion, or $1.06 a share, down from $2.23 billion, or $1.28 a share, a year earlier. The year-earlier quarter included income of 44 cents a share for discontinued operations tied to a gain on the sale of spectrum. Revenue rose to $6.12 billion from $4.94 billion.
Shipments of Qualcomm's mobile chips reached 173 million units, up 14% from the previous year.
For the current quarter, Qualcomm targeted adjusted per-share profit of 97 cents to $1.05 on earnings of $5.8 billion to $6.3 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters recently projected earnings on that basis of $1.04 a share on revenue of $5.88 billion.
—Kristin Jones contributed to this article.Write to Don Clark at don.clark@wsj.com
 
 
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