The UK’s largest mobile operator and the world’s leading designer of mobile processors both reported first quarter earnings today. EE saw revenue slide, but reported a healthy increase in LTE subscribers. ARM Holdings posted better-than-expected results, reaping the benefits of a strong dollar and continuing robust demand for its mobile processor designs.
EE (formerly Everything Everywhere) reported revenue of $2.2 million for the first quarter, down 5.4% from the year ago quarter, but off just 0.4% excluding the impact of cuts to mobile termination rates. EE reported 166,000 net additions to its postpaid customer base, and a decline of 571,000 prepaid customers. The number of LTE subscribers is up, and the company says it will have more than a million 4G subscribers by the end of the year.
“EE reports having 318,000 LTE subscribers at the end of the first quarter of 2013, the first time it has disclosed LTE subscriber numbers,” said Emeka Obiodu, principal telco strategy analyst at Ovum. “It says that this is 2.3% of its postpaid base, and Ovum estimates that this is 1.2% of its total customer base.”
ARM Holdings (ARMH) had a blockbuster first quarter. The company licenses its chip design to many U.S.-based manufacturers, so the strong dollar helped boost results. Revenue was up 26% from the year-ago quarter to $263.9 million. Pretax earnings rose 44% to $136.3 million. The company said that 2.6 billion ARM-based chips shipped during Q1, up 35% year-on-year. ARM said several weeks ago that its CEO Warren East will retire in July. His replacement will be Simon Segars, who is currently president of ARM.
Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T) are both scheduled to report earnings today after the market closes. Investors have soured on Apple this month, sending its stock down to a 52-week low on concerns about weakening demand for its existing mobile devices and possible delays in the production of the next “i-Device.”
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