Arm shares jump after profits at chip designer rise

Arm Holdings, whose computer chip technology powers Apple and Samsung smartphones, said profits rose in the fourth quarter of 2012.

Pre-tax profits rose 16% to 拢80m during the period from a year earlier, while revenue was up 19% to 拢164m.

Shares in Arm rose more than 4.6% in morning trading.

Arm, which had a record order book, is riding the wave of soaring smartphone and tablet sales as more people use these devices to access the internet.

For the full year, the company booked pre-tax profits of 拢277m, up 20% from 2011. Revenue rose 17% to 拢577m.

Audio captionArm Holding's Warren East: Intel had to adjust their strategy

The company said it shipped 2.5bn chips and signed 36 processor licences in the fourth quarter alone.

Smartphone sales around the world are soaring, while those of personal computers remains sluggish - a trend which plays to Arm's strength.

"Arm has seen good revenue and earnings growth throughout 2012. Customers are developing products to meet the needs of the post-PC era and are driving demand for Arm's most advanced technology," said chief executive Warren East.

He added: "2013 brings exciting opportunities and challenges as Arm enters competitive new markets where we are well positioned to succeed with leading technology."

The group expects total revenues in the first quarter of 2013 to be around $250m (拢158m).