Shares in the Cambridge-based company rose to an all-time
high of GBP 12.33 after it posted the figures.
ARM Holdings, the British chip designer favored by Apple,
beat expectations for first-quarter profit thanks to demand for the iPhone 6,
and said its royalties would grow as its latest technology is used in more
smartphones.
Shares in the Cambridge-based company rose to an all-time
high of GBP 12.33 after it posted a 24 percent rise in first-quarter pretax
profit to GBP 120.5 million ($179.1 million).
That beat analysts' expectations of GBP 115 million,
according to a company-provided consensus.
The shares were up 4.6 percent at GBP 12.04 at 0717 GMT.
"In the second half of 2015 we expect to benefit from
the increasing deployment of ARMv8-A technology, our latest generation of
processors, in the newest smartphones and tablets," Chief Financial
Officer Tim Score said on Tuesday.
"These chips typically have a slightly higher royalty
rate than the previous generation."
Royalty revenue, collected a quarter in arrears from a
record 3.8 billion chips shipped, rose 26 percent on an underlying basis, ARM
said.
Analysts at Citi said they expected full-year consensus
expectations for ARM's revenue would edge up to reflect the encouraging
performance in royalties.
ARM's processor licensing revenue dipped 2 percent, missing
market forecasts, but Score said he expected licensing revenue to raise 5-10
percent in the longer term.
Industry-wide revenues had slipped after a busy fourth
quarter, in line with normal seasonal trends, which would be reflected in its
second quarter, Score said. But overall second-quarter revenue would be in line
with market expectations, which stand at $354.6 million.
