Qualcomm reported high earnings and revenue for the first fiscal quarter as demand surged for its chips used in smartphones and cars, making up for a fall in licensing revenue.
"Our fiscal first quarter results reflect continued strong performance in our semiconductor business, as well as continued strength in 3G/4G handset ASPs," said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. "We recently detailed our roadmap for value creation, outlining the significant growth potential for Qualcomm as we enter the 5G world and our products and technologies expand into attractive new markets."
Strong quarterly results in Qualcomm's CDMA technologies (QCT) unit that makes modem chips contrasted with a steep fall in revenue in the licensing business.
Qualcomm tries to avoid a $103-billion takeover approach by Broadcom Ltd and close its $38-billion deal to buy automotive chip maker NXP Semiconductors. In addition, the company is in court with Apple over license disputes. Apple sued Qualcomm last January, accusing it of overcharging for chips and of refusing to pay some $1 billion in promised rebates.
Weighed down by the Apple dispute, Qualcomm's licensing business posted a 28 percent fall in revenue to $1.30 billion in the first quarter ended Dec. 24.
Revenue at the QCT business rose 13 percent to $4.65 billion.
Qualcomm posted a net loss of $5.95 billion compared to a profit of $682 million a year earlier, reflecting a $6 billion one-time charge because of new U.S. tax laws. Excluding one-time items, Qualcomm earned 98 cents per share. Revenue rose 1.2 percent to $6.07 billion.
Qualcomm also today announced that it has expanded its global patent cross-license agreement with Samsung covering mobile devices and infrastructure equipment. As part of the agreement, Samsung will be withdrawing its interventions in Qualcomm's appeal of the KFTC decision in the Seoul High Court.
"Qualcomm has enjoyed a strong partnership with Samsung for many years, and we are pleased to further strengthen and extend our relationship through this amended cross-license agreement, alongside our continuing relationship as a key product supplier to Samsung," said Steve Mollenkopf, Chief Executive Officer, Qualcomm Incorporated.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. also announced a multi-year strategic relationship agreement with Samsung, related to "various technology areas and across a range of mobile devices."
"The announcement today underscores the importance of our longstanding strategic relationship with Samsung in driving core mobile technology into many different segments," said Cristiano Amon, president, Qualcomm Incorporated. "As Qualcomm continues to lead the world to 5G, the opportunities between our companies are growing and this agreement sets us both on a path for continued success."
The device licensing has been the focus of many of Qualcomm's regulatory and customer disputes.
On Qualcomm's earnings call, Alex Rogers, head of the company's licensing division, told investors Samsung would still pay royalties on handset sales, rather than combining the royalty agreement with its chip purchases.
Qualcomm spokesman declined to elaborate on the specifics of the Samsung deal.
Under the previous agreement between the companies, Samsung paid $1.3 billion upfront and then an ongoing rate that many analysts believed was possibly lower than what other device makers paid.