San Diego based Qualcomm reports another year of gains

SAN DIEGO (CNS) – Qualcomm Inc., the San Diego-based provider of cell phone technology, Wednesday reported net income of $8 billion, or $4.65 per diluted share, for the fiscal year ended Sept. 28, compared to almost $6.9 billion, or $3.91 per share, in the previous fiscal year.

For the final quarter, Qualcomm’s net income was nearly $1.9 billion, or $1.11 per diluted share, compared to $1.5 billion, or 86 cents per diluted share, in the final three months of the previous fiscal year.

“We are pleased to report another year of record financial performance as our 3G/4G LTE multimode and other advanced technologies continue to enable the growth of wireless data around the world, driven by our broad chipset roadmap,” said CEO Steve Mollenkopf. “We are forecasting continued growth of global 3G/4G device shipments in calendar year 2015, particularly in emerging regions.”

However, the company said it was having difficulties collecting royalties from business partners in China and could face an antitrust investigation in the Asian nation.

“China continues to present significant opportunities for us, particularly with the rollout of 3G/4G LTE multimode, but also presents significant challenges, as our business practices continue to be the subject of an investigation by the China National Development and Reform Commission,” a Qualcomm statement says.

The company also said Chinese licensees might be under-reporting sales, while unlicensed firms are waiting for the investigation to be completed before signing a contract.

Around $665 million of the company’s revenues in the recently completed fiscal year stemmed from the sale of the Omnitracs division, which makes fleet tracking software.

Qualcomm reported that it shipped 861 million of its wireless chips, an increase of 20 percent over the year before.