IP platform developer Parthus says the worst is over

IP platform developer Parthus says the worst is over
By By Anthony Clark, EE Times UK
October 19, 2001 (11:21 a.m. EST)
URL: http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011019S0063

LONDON — Parthus Technologies plc (Dublin, Ireland), a developer of intellectual-property (IP) platforms for mobile devices, expects to break even in mid-2002 with the help of increased licensing income, according to Brian Long, the company's chief executive officer. The bottom has been reached for IP companies, Long said. "The market is as bad as it's going to get, we're banking on it," he said.

Long's prediction followed the announcement of third-quarter results that saw the company's income from licensing come in ahead of market expectations.

"We have delivered a solid performance, particularly given the market conditions — our licensing revenue grew by 82 percent," he said. Parthus sales in the third quarter were $8.2 million. However, as a relatively recent convert to hardware IP licensing from a design-services business mode, Parthus is still loss-making.

Parthus recorded a third-quarter loss of $3.2 million, up from $1.5 m illion for the same quarter in 2000, but Long says this is principally due to recent acquisitions.

"The overall trend is improving," he said. "We have $127 million in the bank and a low cash burn."

Long also cited the licensing of the power-management technology for mobile devices to Motorola as indicative of a strong order book.

Anthony Clark is deputy editor of Electronics Times, EE Times' sister publication in the United Kingdom.