ARM Holdings Plc (ARM) reported high sales for the first quarter of 2013, as demand increased for its graphics and processing technology.
The British company reported that its revenue rose 29 percent to 170.3 million pounds ($260 million) in the first quarter ended in March.
ARM's royalty revenues outpaced the wider semiconductor industry, driven by market share gains in key end markets including digital TVs and microcontrollers. In addition, the growth in smartphones and tablets continues to benefit ARM.
During Q1, ARM signed 22 processor licenses across multiple end markets from smartphones and mobile computing to digital TVs and wearable technology. A total of
2.6 billion ARM-based chips shipped, up 35% year-on-year.
The company also enjoyed a strong year-on-year shipment growth across all segments; mobile chips up 25%, embedded up 50% year-on-year. Shipments of its Mali graphics processors with shipments were also up more than 5 times year-on-year.
"ARM has delivered another quarter of strong revenue and earnings growth, driven by robust licensing and record royalty revenue," said Warren East, ARM Chief Executive Officer. "Everyday devices are becoming smarter, more connected and more energy efficient, which is increasing the applicability of and demand for ARM's technology. In particular, this quarter ARM saw strong uptake of its next generation, higher royalty bearing ARMv8, Mali and big.LITTLE technology for smartphones and mobile computers."
ARM expects group revenues for the full-year 2013 to be at least in line with current market expectations.
"Relevant industry data for Q1 2013, being the shipment period for ARM's Q2 royalties, points to a sequential decrease in industry-wide revenues of around 10%," ARM said. "In this context we expect group revenues for the second quarter to be in line with current market expectations."