ARM rides digital wave

Smartphone chip designer ARM Holdings saw profits jump again in the first quarter as digital technology continues to spread.

The firm reported adjusted pre-tax profits of £61.9m in the first three months of 2012, up 22% on the year before.

Revenues were up 14% to £132,5m, with earnings per share up 23% to 3.36p.

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The company also increased its operating margin slightly from 42.5% to 44.5%.

It said 1.1bn chips based on its processor technology had been shipped into mobile phones and mobile computers, slightly down on the year before.

There were also 0.8bn chips shipped into consumer and embedded digital devices, up 15% year-on-year.

"As many aspects of our lives become digital, we continue to see an increase in the demand for ARM's smarter and lower power technology, which is driving both our licensing and royalty revenues," said Chief Executive Warren East.

"Whilst first quarter industry shipments declined sequentially, most analysts expect the industry to recover in the second half," he added.

"In that context, ARM expects that group dollar revenues for the full-year 2012 will be in line with current market expectations."