CSR heads strong performance from tech sector

CSR (LON:CSR), a leading microchip manufacturer for wireless devices, has reported a 114.6 per cent increase in revenue for the first quarter of 2010, putting the group’s share price up by over five per cent on a day that’s proving fruitful for many tech firms.

Rob Hull
shareprices.com - Wednesday, May 05, 2010

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CSR announced a Q1 revenue increase of 114.6 per cent

CSR and fellow semiconductor firm Wolfson Microelectronics (LON:WLF) released interim statements today beating expectations for first quarter sales.

And software group Sage (LON:SGE) also announced an 11 per cent rise in first-half pre-tax profits on the same day.

But it was the results from CSR that appear to have investors most buoyant, encouraged by a strong outlook for the second quarter of 2010 from the group that specialises in Bluetooth, GPS and Wi-Fi chip technology.

Revenue for the first quarter increased to $173m from $80.6m for the same period of 2009. And the firm went on to predict a further increase for the second quarter to between $210m and $225m.

Shares increased by 6.10p by the time the market opened this morning and have continued to improve by another 18.6p to a morning high of 444,70p, 5.88 per cent up.

The revenue boost for Q1 is due to the group having its chips selected to be used in a range of smartphones that are set to go head-to-head with Apple’s iPhone.

Joep van Beurden, the group CEO, said an increasing need for connectivity and location services in vehicles as well as electronic products like gaming devices, smartphones and cameras will ensure a strong performance in the future.

He said: “All this feeds demands for our chips, and the growth of the BRIC countries is adding to marketplace momentum.

“Our focus will remain on innovation and execution to exploit this and seize the expanding long term market opportunities we see.”

The results and future outlook has put CSR at the brink of the FTSE 250 risers for today.

Wolfson Microelectronics hasn’t had the same success on the LSE this morning however. Despite increasing first quarter revenue by 13 per cent, the group’s share price has dropped as much as 4.57 per cent as its pre-tax losses grew.

Sage Group shares hit a 52-week high of 259.20p which was 4.45 per cent up as the group said it expected a strong performance for the rest of the year as customers that delayed spending on software products and technology are looking to invest again.

 

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