Broadcom and Qualcomm grew their sales in the wireless chip-set market in Q4, and expect market demand to grow substantially in 2010.
Qualcomm's Q4 net income was $841m, up 147% on the $341m net income of Q408 on sales which grew 6% to hit $2.7bn.
Operating income was up 18% at $879m, compared to $745m in Q408. Equipment and services revenue increased 17% to $1.7bn, while licensing and royalty fees declined 8% to $1bn.
"This quarter was driven by healthy demand for our chipsets, strong shipments of 3G devices by our licensees and lower operating expenses", said Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs, "we are reaffirming our 2010 3G device forecast - an increase of 21% year-over-year. A subdued economic recovery in developed regions, including Europe and Japan, combined with relative strength at the lower end of the market, is changing our estimated 3G device average selling price and chipset mix for this fiscal year."
Qualcomm expects Q2 2010 revenue between $2.4bn and $2.6bn and 2010 full-year revenue between $10.4bn and $11bn.
Broadcom's Q4 revenue was $1.3bn which was 7% up on Q3 and 19% up on Q408. Q4 net profit was $59m. Net revenue for the whole of 2009 was $4.5bn which was 3.6% down on the $4.7bn net revenue of 2008.
"In the midst of one of the worst economic downturns, Broadcom gained market share, achieved record quarterly revenue and delivered the strongest cash flow from operations in our history," said Broadcom CEO Scott McGregor