Providing an upbeat glimpse of what the year-end will bring, Qualcomm Inc. has amended its financial guidance for the first fiscal quarter ending Dec. 28, 2003.
Qualcomm now expects revenues for the quarter, excluding the Qualcomm Strategic Initiative (QSI) segment, to increase 36 percent to 38 percent sequentially and 11 percent to 12 percent from last year. Earnings per share, excluding QSI, are expected to be 47 to 48 cents, up 62 percent to 66 percent sequentially and 12 percent to 14 percent since last year. Qualcomm said it based those estimates on the shipments of approximately 32 million to 33 million Mobile Station Modem phone chips during the quarter. The company’s previous, lower financial estimates were based on expectations only 27 million to 28 million MSM phone chips would be shipped during the quarter.
In addition, Qualcomm said royalty reports for the last fiscal quarter indicate sales of approximately 31 million new CDMA subscriber units compared with the company’s estimate of 26 million units during the quarter. The company now expects total CDMA units shipped for the full-year 2003 to be 110 million to 112 million, up from 106 million to 108 million previously estimated.
“We are seeing stronger growth than anticipated in all CDMA markets as operators continue to deploy and expand 3G networks, providing high-quality voice and advanced data services over a broad range of phones,” said Qualcomm Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Irwin Jacobs. Jacobs cited advanced phone features, including high-resolution color screens, mega-pixel cameras, position location technologies, and the availability of 1x EV-DO services as market drivers for advanced handsets.
