QUALCOMM posts 37% higher Q4 profit

QUALCOMM posted higher earnings in its fourth quarter thanks to 40 percent higher revenue from increased demand for mobile devices, especially phones with video players and Web browsers. The company's net earnings rose 37 percent to $538 million on revenue of $1.56 billion. The company expects to ship 255 million to 270 million phones based on CDMA and WCDMA technologies in 2006. QUALCOMM also predicts that the market for WCDMA devices will double to 86 million in 2006, up from its 44 million estimate for 2005. Prices for handsets in 2006 should fall to an average of $210 from about $215 in 2005 as emerging markets like Latin America and India demand cheaper phones. QUALCOMM expects 2006 revenue of $6.7 billion to $7.1 billion.

For more on QUALCOMM's Q4 results:
- see this article from MarketWatch