ARM sees profits rise 9%, boosted by strong licensing deals

Cubestorm
An ARM-powered Cubestormer

Cambridge-based chip designer ARM saw profits rise during the second quarter as gadget makers coughed up to get their hands on its next-gen processor designs.

In a statement, the company revealed that profits rose 9% year-on-year to £94 million during the quarter ending June 30. Revenue also rose 9% compared with the 12-month prior period, up from £86.6 million to £187.1 million.

The positive results came following a 42% surge in ARM's licensing revenues - the up-front fees it receives when it licenses its CPU designs to Apple, Samsung and other makers of consumer electronics - which included licenses for its multimedia-focused Mali CPUs for the first time.

Perfect 10

The company's 64-bit ARMv8 designs now power all of the top 10 smartphones on the market (including Apple's iPhone 5S) in terms of shipments, and nine out of the top 10 tablets.

The company also saw a rise in license for embedded intelligence devices, with 20 licenses signed during the quarter, in addition to 900 million embedded SoCs.

ARM saw royalty revenues grow 2% year-on-year, a number that it predicts will rise throughout the second half of the year. The company cited improving market conditions for an improved outlook in that period, with licensing for new technologies on the horizon.

Kane Fulton
Kane has been fascinated by the endless possibilities of computers since first getting his hands on an Amiga 500+ back in 1991. These days he mostly lives in realm of VR, where he's working his way into the world Paddleball rankings in Rec Room.