Qualcomm Reports Rise in Earnings and Revenue

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) late Wednesday reported net income of $766 million for its second fiscal quarter of 2008, up 6 percent from the comparable year ago period. Revenues were $2.61 billion, a 17 percent increase from the same period in 2007.

San Diego-based Qualcomm is the world’s largest manufacturer of mobile phone chips. The company is a leader in third-generation, or 3G, mobile phone chip production.

“We delivered another strong quarter as worldwide adoption of 3G CDMA-based products and services continues to accelerate,” said CEO Paul E. Jacobs in a prepared statement. “We continue to execute on our strategic objectives and are pleased to see positive momentum in the marketplace. The fundamental drives of our business remain strong, and based on the current business outlook, we are raising fiscal 2008 revenue and earnings per share guidance.”

During the company’s conference call, Jacobs added that though there has been recent concern surrounding the U.S. economy, Qualcomm’s businesses are geographically diversified and a significant portion of revenues are from international customers, prompting the rise in earnings guidance.

The company also expects to benefit from the increased growth in mobile banking. In March Citibank announced that Citicard’s members would have real-time, secure access to their account information — anytime, anywhere — on their wireless handset through Qualcomm’s Firethorn subsidiary. Four of the top ten banks in the U.S. are now taking advantage of the Firethorn solution and we are committed to working with leading operators and financial institutions to grow the adoption of mobile banking.

The company provided no information on customer churn.