ARM up on chips

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

Shares in chip designer ARM Holdings rose sharply on Thursday 13 April, shrugging off weakness among other leading technology stocks, after a report of progress on a new high-speed version of an ARM product.

In a statement released on the ARM website www.arm.com, US telecom equipment group Lucent Technologies Inc said it had made the first chip based upon the ARM 10 design.

The new version would enable the development of next-generation wireless products and broadband infrastructure that support Internet access and transport, ARM said.

ARM shares were among the top performing FTSE 100 stocks, gaining 166 pence or 5.1% to 3,400p by 1345, having hit a day's peak of 3,530p. In New York the company's ADRs added $11 to $161.

The rise came despite sharp falls in other UK technology and telecom stocks in the wake of the the latest heavy setback for the tech-laden US Nasdaq index.

One analyst said the market already knew about the Lucent ARM 10 chip programme, but said that any progress in the development cycle was positive.

'It's good news because it shows the road map is going along as planned, but we still need to see the final processing speed of the chip,' the analyst said.

The ARM 10 chip is intended for use in third generation mobile phones, where its expected processing speed and capacity will allow it do the job of two existing chips.

Analysts pointed out that ARM, which licenses different chip makers to use ARM designs, would derive revenue from the ARM 10 chip the moment Lucent took it to market and would therefore benefit from a timely product release.

One analyst noted that US-based chip maker Advanced Micro Devices had posted better-than-expected first quarter results on Wednesday, giving its own shares a boost and pepping up the entire sector. • Reuters

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