Qualcomm post loss as revenue cut
Qualcomm
fluctuated to a loss in its last quarter, as sales in the company's device that developed mobile modem technology were flat and its licensing business was still damaged by continuing the battle with
apple
Inc.
On Wednesday, San Diego-based Qualcomm posted a loss of $ 493 million, or 35 cents per share, compared with a surplus of $ 168 million, 11 cents per share in the same period last year. Qualcomm also struggles with expenses in the last quarter, when total costs increased by 1[ads1]6% to $ 6.46 billion.
On an adjusted basis, Qualcomm reported a profit of 90 cents per share, and 83 percent exceeded a stake expected by analysts asked by FactSet.
Qualcomm booked NOK 5.8 billion in revenue for the quarter, up 2% from the previous year. Analysts had expected $ 5.53 billion.
The company booked $ 4.65 billion in sales in its segment that creates chipsets used in mobile devices, roughly flat from last year. Profit before tax in business fell 18% to $ 796 million, according to the company. Qualcomm said that mobile modem broadcasting increased by 5%.
In the license segment, sales fell 6% to $ 1.14 billion, and earnings before tax fell 11% to $ 739 million. Qualcomm did not register license revenue in the quarter from Apple, which retains royalty payments from Qualcomm in a dispute about the company's licensing practice.
Qualcomm has accused Apple of transferring its intellectual property rights
Intel
Corp.
, which delivers chips for new-model iPhones.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, a federal judge ruled that Qualcomm must license some of its patents to rival chip suppliers in an antitrust suit obtained by the Federal Trade Commission. The raid has the potential to elevate Qualcomm's practice with licensing to device makers instead of chip vendors, says some analysts.
During a conversation with analysts Wednesday, Chief Executive Steve Mollenkopf said the FTC decision was incorrect. He said that the company is focused on settling the case, which goes to trial in January.
"There is nothing in the order that complicates it and meanwhile we are not forced to do anything differently with the business," said Mollenkopf.
A decline in global smartphone sales is to compensate Qualcomm's licensing clothes. The company expects modest shipments to drop by 22%, or about 185 million units, during the three months ending in December. The company said that the decline reflects in part Apple's release of new iPhones without Qualcomm modem chips.
Stocks in Qualcomm were down at 4.3% in the aftermarket trade. The company's share ended 0.7% earlier Wednesday.
For the current quarter, the first forecasts in the company's new fiscal year Qualcomm revenue forecast between $ 4.5 billion and $ 5.3 billion, and earnings per share between 78 cents and 88 cents. Adjusted earnings are expected to be between $ 1.05 per share and $ 1.15 per share, in front of the consensus forecast of 94 cents per share.
Qualcomm has met a number of challenges in its last fiscal year. Earlier this year, the company dropped a takeover bid
Broadcom
Inc.,
An agreement ended the end of President Trump.
in June qualcommixed its proposed $ 44 billion acquisition of Dutch chip maker
NXP Semiconductors
NV after he had not received approval from it from Chinese regulators.
Qualcomm is also still locked in a separate dispute with the Chinese smartphone maker Huawei Technologies Co., which is also reluctant royalty payments.
Qualcomm said the repurchased 254.6 million shares valued at $ 21.14 billion in the September period, made after leaving its offer for NXP.
-Tripp Mickle contributed to this article.
Write to Micah Maidenberg at micah.maidenberg@wsj.com
