Wolfson has confirmed that
one of its audio chips has not been selected by a major Tier 1
customer for inclusion in the next generation of its portable media
players, expected to be launched during the third quarter of
2008.
The Edinburgh-based company's share price dipped sharply on the
news, with investors believing the customer in question was
Apple.
Wolfson has benefited greatly from audio codec design wins with
Apple for both the iPod nano and iPhone. The company said it
"continues to have a strong relationship with this customer" as a
supplier for its other high-growth product areas,
believed to refer to the iPhone.
Wolfson said that revenues from applications other than portable
media players grew by 22% in 2007 and represented 76% of group
sales.
"Revenue growth from these applications has continued to be very
strong thus far in 2008, with particularly good performance in
handsets, digital still cameras, gaming, headsets, GPS and
automotive," said the company.
It said it expects the impact on revenues in the second half of
2008 from the design loss to be mitigated by stronger than
previously anticipated growth across its customer base and
application areas.
"We remain confident in achieving growth in 2008 and currently
anticipates full-year revenue consistent with market expectations,"
said Wolfson.
Wolfson's guidance for first quarter 2008 revenue is in the range
$44-$48m.