Qualcomm profits up 4% on lower sales decline

Qualcomm Inc.'s fiscal third quarter net income rose 4 percent on higher shipment of wireless chips and revenue fell less than expected at the communication ICs manufacturer.

The San Diego-based company reported net income for the quarter ended June 27 climbed slightly to $767 million, or 47 cents per share, from $737 million, or 44 cents per share, in the year-go quarter.

Qualcomm's revenue fell to $2.71 billion from $2.75 billion in the fiscal 2009 third quarter but exceeded analysts' average estimate of $2.63 billion. Qualcomm executives said the company's performance improved during the latest quarter with shipment rising on continuing demand for wireless handsets.

"Our financial performance this quarter exceeded our prior expectations, driven by record MSM chipset shipments, favorable product mix and continued strong demand for 3G devices around the world," said Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, in a statement.

"We continue to see healthy CDMA-based device growth of approximately 23 percent in calendar year 2010, and are raising both our revenue and earnings guidance for the fiscal year," Jacobs added.

Qualcomm said fiscal fourth quarter revenue would be between $2.67 billion and $2.93 billion, slightly better than current analysts' consensus estimate of $2.77 billion. The company forecasts earnings per share for the last quarter of its fiscal year would be between 39 cents and 43 cents