ARM Holdings jumps on increased profit

After releasing better-than-expected full-year results for 2011 ARM Holdings (ARM) jumped up in Tuesday trading, giving energy to the FTSE 100's (UKX) move into positive territory.

Fourth-quarter pre-tax profit grew by 45% to £69 million - significantly beating consensus estimates of £55.8 million.

Warren East, chief executive officer, commented that in 2011 the company has seen "strong licensing growth, driven by market-leading semiconductor companies increasing their commitment to ARM technology, and more new customers choosing ARM technology for the first time."

The microprocessor designer, whose chip designs are utilised by Apple (AAPL) in both the iPad and the iPhone, released its results a week after Apple announced better-than-expected sales figures for both devices over the past year - with the iPhone selling 37 million units versus the initially-anticipated 30 million units.

Witnessing a 10% increase in chips shipped into mobile devices, alongside a 40% year-on-year growth in chips place into embedded and consumer digital devices, 2011 has been an impressive year for the group. Alongside this ARM has managed to secure a number of significant licences with companies looking to include low-power chips into consumer electronics.

"2012 will bring exciting opportunities and challenges," East added, suggesting that the company's business model and networks will secure a strong performance for the group despite entering more competitive markets in the year ahead. Assuming that the macroeconomic situation does not deteriorate significantly, ARM expects group dollar revenues for the full year to be at least in line with current market expectations of circa £545 million.

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