Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
HTC expects 4Q10 revenues to hit record for third time straight
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Monday 1 November 2010]
Taiwan-based smartphone vendor HTC projects that its consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 will reach NT$100 billion, hitting the highest quarterly figure on record for the third consecutive time, according to the company at an investors conference on October 29.
HTC shipped 6.8 million smartphones at an average selling price of US$342 in the third quarter of 2010 and expects to ship nine million ones at an average of US$347 in the fourth quarter. The demand for Android smartphones in the North America market has been growing fast since 2009, and the same growth is seen in Europe and Asia in 2010, HTC pointed out.
HTC's board of directors, at a meeting on October 29, decided to invest up to NT$1.6 billion (US$51.9 million) to construct a factory building with total floor space of 72,730 square meters (782,800 square feet) in northern Taiwan, with the construction to be completed in 12 months. The board also decided to buy back 10 million HTC shares at a total cost of up to NT$8.5 billion in November-December 2010, with 50% of the shares to be transferred to employees and the other 50% to be canceled
Pegatron Technology internally expects its Apple CDMA iPhone shipments to reach 10 million units in 2011 and the company has recently started to gear up and is installing new equipment as well as hiring about 10,000 new employees at its plant in Shanghai, China, according to sources from component makers. Commenting on the news, Pegatron CEO Jason Chang declined to discuss its clients, but pointed out that the increase in employees is mainly to handle growing smartphone business and he expects revenues in the first quarter of 2011 to see a strong increase.
In addition to iPhone, Pegatron is also said to have been aggressively pursuing MacBook and iPad orders.
Although installing equipment and hiring new employees has created a one-time expense and impacted the company's gross margin, since the company will start shipping the new orders in the near future, the company internally expects to see 20-30% growth in 2011 revenues, the sources noted.
The sources also pointed out that Pegatron will start shipping the CDMA iPhone 4 in December and it should become a key driver for 2011 revenues.
Apple Sues Motorola for Violating Smartphone Patents
By SHAYNDI RAICE
Apple Inc. has sued Motorola Inc. alleging the company's smartphone lineup infringes on the iPhone maker's intellectual property.
Apple's lawsuit, which was filed yesterday in U.S. district court in Wisconsin, comes after Motorola sued Apple earlier this month for patent infringement.
The complaint is the latest development in a long-running series of disputes involving handset makers in the fiercely competitive smartphone business.
In the complaint, Apple alleges that Motorola smartphones including those in its Droid lineup violate three Apple patents. Apple is requesting that a judge award damages and attorney's fees and that the courts stop Motorola from selling the products.
The suit was reported earlier by the blog, Patently Apple.
In a statement, Motorola said it has not yet received a copy of the complaint. The company said, however, that "Motorola has a leading intellectual property portfolio, one of the strongest in the industry, and we intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this matter. We are confident in our position and will pursue our litigation to halt Apple's continued infringement."
An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available for comment.
Earlier this year, Apple filed a patent-infringement suit against HTC Corp., which like Motorola makes phones using Google Inc.'s Android software. Earlier this month, Microsoft Corp. sued Motorola over phone patents.
Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703414504575584761714573610.html#ixzz13sfQhH7r
To your point, the ipad came out in the second quarter, 2010. the amendment may have been to cover this product.
Is Apple Planning A Giant-Sized Acquisition (Or Maybe Two)?
Posted by Eric Savitz
In case you missed it, Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs made a surprise appearance on today’s conference call following the company’s September quarter results. Among other things, Jobs was asked about what Apple might do with its $51 billion in cash. And what he basically said is that the company wants to have the cash around to do some big acquisitions.
“We strongly believe that one or more very strategic opportunities may come along, that we can take, that we’re in a unique position to take advantage of because of our strong cash position,” he said on the call, and then he said it again. “So I think that we would like to continue to keep our powder dry because we do feel that there are one or more strategic opportunities in the future.”
Whoa! Apple, which does not generally make large acquisitions, seems to be telegraphing a new strategy: use the cash to buy something “strategic.”
Care to guess?
HTC Posts Record Revenue, Profit on Android Phones
By Tim Culpan - Oct 6, 2010
HTC Corp., the world’s largest maker of handsets using Microsoft Corp. and Google Inc. operating systems, almost doubled quarterly profit, beating analyst estimates as smartphone demand drove sales to a record.
Third-quarter net income climbed 95 percent to a record NT$11.1 billion ($360 million) from NT$5.7 billion a year earlier, the Taoyuan, Taiwan-based company said in a statement today. That exceeded the NT$9.2 billion average of 16 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Sales more than doubled from a year earlier, driven by models using Google’s Android platform, which overtook Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry software as the most popular operating system in the U.S. among new smartphone buyers. The release of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 software this quarter may also help HTC increase sales.
“HTC will be a key beneficiary of the robust smartphone up-cycle, growing popularity of Android, and Microsoft’s strong push of WP7,” Jeff Pu, an analyst at Fubon Financial Holding Co. in Taipei, wrote in a report yesterday. “HTC’s improving brand awareness and software capability will continue to support its growth momentum into 2011.”
Consolidated revenue rose to NT$76 billion, beating HTC’s July 29 forecast for NT$70 billion and trailing the NT$77.6 billion average of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. HTC forecast in July that third-quarter shipments would more than double to 6.5 million units.
Product Transition
“September shipments were impacted by the transition from old products to new, with large volume shipments to begin in October,” the company said in the statement, without providing sales volume data.
HTC rose 3 percent to NT$719 at the close of trade in Taipei, before earnings were announced. The stock has more than doubled this year, driving its market value above $19 billion and making it Taiwan’s fifth-largest listed company by market capitalization. Taiwan’s Taiex index has added 1.2 percent in the period, trailing a 7.8 percent advance in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.
Android, the free operating system developed by Google, had a 32 percent share of the U.S. market for smartphones bought in the past six months, surpassing Apple Inc.’s iPhone and the BlackBerry platforms, which were tied in second place, according to August data from Nielsen Co.
Global shipments of smartphones, or handsets connected to the Internet, will climb 55 percent this year to 269.6 million units, researcher International Data Corp. said Sept. 7.
Mindshare, Market Share
“Additional product introductions and an expected flurry of smartphone buying activity in the second half of the year will push the market well above previous expectations,” IDC said.
Android and Apple’s iPhone software “have taken away both mindshare and market share from the old regime, and have helped propel the market forward.”
HTC’s revenue may climb to NT$91 billion this quarter, according to the average of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. HTC is rated the equivalent of “buy” by 22 of 29 analysts, with two recommending investors sell the stock and four rating it “hold,” according to Bloomberg data.
HTC’s global brand awareness rose to 40 percent by the first half of this year from 10 percent last year after it spent more on marketing and advertising, it said in July.
The company released its first own-brand handsets in China during the quarter. HTC also unveiled an upgraded version of its Desire handset with a high-definition display.
The explanation may simply be the timing of events. Roath's Form 4 is dated as of the first, but the sales actually took place on the 29th. The massive surge in volume started on the 30th with the rumor surfacing the next day. If true - and I'm not saying the rumor is true - the sales occurred before the offer surfaced.
HTC to ship 7-8 million smartphones in 3Q, and 9-10 million in 4Q10, say Taiwan makers
Daniel Shen, Taipei; Adam Hwang, DIGITIMES [Tuesday 28 September 2010]
Taiwan-based vendor HTC will ship an estimated 7-8 million smartphones in the third quarter of 2010 and 9-10 million units in the fourth quarter, and its second-half 2010 smartphone shipment volume will rank fourth behind Nokia, RIM (Research in Motion) and Apple, according to Taiwan-based makers of handset components.
HTC will see significant sequential growth in its fourth-quarter shipment volume due to the launch of new Android- and Windows Phone 7-based models, the sources pointed out. In contrast, Apple's decreased shipment volume in the fourth quarter will be because Apple fans' purchases of the iPhone 4 peaked in the third quarter, the sources indicated.
Source: Taiwan-based handset component makers
somebody call Larry Ellison -- Please!!!
Oracle Plans to Acquire Chip Companies, More Software
By Aaron Ricadela and Ian King - Sep 23, 2010
Oracle Corp., continuing a run of more than 65 acquisitions over the past five years, is looking to purchase semiconductor companies and makers of industry- specific software, Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said.
“You’re going to see us buying chip companies,” Ellison, 66, said today at Oracle’s annual meeting in San Francisco. Acquiring chipmakers would further Oracle’s push into computer hardware, initiated in January with its purchase of Sun Microsystems Inc., a server manufacturer.
Ellison said he wants to follow the approach of Apple Inc. CEO Steve Jobs by owning more of the intellectual property that underpins computer chips. Apple has bought semiconductor makers to help develop devices such as the iPad and iPhone. Oracle already acquired some chip knowhow from Sun, which makes servers based on its own chip design, Sparc, while also using personal- computer chips from Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Oracle may buy a semiconductor company with technology for servers, said Doug Freedman, an analyst at Gleacher & Co. in San Francisco. Potential targets include AMD, International Business Machines Corp.’s chip division and Nvidia Corp., he said.
Looking at AMD?
“You’ve got to think it’s focused on enterprise hardware, on the server,” he said. “AMD jumps off the screen.”
Drew Prairie, a spokesman for Sunnyvale, California-based AMD, said the company doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation. Hector Marinez, a spokesman for Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia, also declined to comment. Lori Bosio, a representative of Armonk, New York-based IBM, didn’t return messages left after business hours.
Oracle also plans to buy more makers of software focused on certain industries, Ellison said. By zeroing in on specific areas, the company aims to stand out from rivals such as SAP AG.
“We want to play in every important industry,” he said.
Oracle, based in Redwood City, California, fell 8 cents to $27.12 today in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares have climbed 11 percent this year.
Oracle, the world’s second-largest software company, had $23.6 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of its fiscal first quarter. The company hired former Hewlett- Packard Co. CEO Mark Hurd as co-president Sept. 6, leading analysts to say Oracle may acquire more hardware companies.
Moving Up
As Oracle scouts for acquisition targets, it’s also working to make its hardware business more profitable by decreasing sales of lower-priced systems. Hardware sales yielded a gross profit margin of 48 percent in the first quarter, compared with 72.5 percent for the company as a whole.
Oracle plans to double the size of its hardware business, which generated $1.7 billion last quarter, Ellison said during a conference call last week.
The company is selling customers more high-end computer systems that contain computing power, storage, network connectivity and software designed to work together. Oracle introduced two such systems this week: Exalogic and a new version of its Exadata computer.
“I would be stunned if 10 years from now, most data centers didn’t rely on these engineered systems,” Ellison said. “We’re betting that this is the future of computing.”
Juniper CEO Johnson Expects More Acquisitions by Big Technology Companies
By Peter Burrows - Sep 23, 2010
Kevin Johnson, chief executive officer of Juniper Networks Inc., said he expects more acquisitions by large technology companies as they step up competition against one another.
Companies are trying to add a broader range of products and services to compete with rivals that are doing the same, Johnson said in an interview today at an analyst conference in San Jose, California.
Juniper, which ranks second to Cisco Systems Inc. in the networking-equipment market, won’t expand into areas that carry lower profit margins than its current business, he said. The company plans to focus on helping carriers and corporate customers find cheaper ways to deal with exploding demand for mobile Internet services.
The economic recovery will vary in “pace and trajectory,” Johnson told analysts at the event. “But as an innovator and a share taker, our opportunities are very good.”
Juniper, based in Sunnyvale, California, rose 10 cents to $29.66 at 12:45 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading. The shares have climbed 11 percent this year.
To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco at pburrows@bloomberg.net;
Brocade targeted by M&A rumor mill
Shares jump on IBM speculation, though some see Dell making move
By Benjamin Pimentel, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The tech M&A fever spewed more heat Wednesday as shares of Brocade Communications rose sharply on speculation of a potential buyout deal with IBM Corp.
Brocade (NASDAQ:BRCD) shares were up 61 cents, or 10.8%, to close at $6.26 on rumors, including a couple reported in Barron’s, that Big Blue (NYSE:IBM) was considering acquiring the networking gear maker that has long been considered to be a potential target.
digits: Adobe Shares Plummet on Forecast
Adobe Systems shares saw a sharp drop Wednesday morning, dragging down the S&P tech sector, after the company's fourth-quarter guidance disappointed investors. Simon Constable and Spencer Ante discuss.
Some analysts reached by MarketWatch downplayed a possible IBM-Brocade marriage, but noted that it definitely is buying season for major tech players hoping to boost their product portfolios at a time when the lines in the data center market are blurring.
Wedbush analyst Kaushik Roy said Brocade is surely an attractive acquisition target, but sees Dell Inc. (NASDAQ:DELL) as the more motivated buyer.
“It makes a lot more sense for Dell to buy Brocade than IBM,” he said in an interview. “With Dell, it’s a no-brainer. If Dell has half of a brain, they should be taking Brocade out right now.”
That’s because, of the big tech players vying for a piece of lucrative corporate space, Dell still has a relatively weak product portfolio, especially in networking and data storage.
Infineon Increases 2010 Forecast on Smartphone Sales
By Ragnhild Kjetland - Sep 21, 2010
Infineon Technologies AG, Europe’s second-largest chipmaker, raised its fiscal 2010 profitability and revenue forecast for a fourth time as it benefits from higher-than-expected sales of smartphones.
The company predicts revenue in the 12 months ended Sept 30. will rise by about 50 percent with an operating profit margin of 13 to 14 percent, Infineon said in a statement today. That compares with a previous prediction for a “mid to high” 40s percent sales growth and a “low teens” percentage margin.
Infineon shares dropped 0.8 percent to close at 4.72 euros as of 5:30 p.m. in Frankfurt trading. The Neubiberg, Germany- based company last raised its forecast on July 28.
Researcher Gartner Inc. this month raised its forecast for worldwide semiconductor revenue in 2010 to $300 billion, a 31.5 percent increase from 2009. It warned “the industry cannot maintain the momentum” in the second half of the year, or into 2011, partly because of slowing sales of computers and more competition in chips for specific applications on mobile phones.
Infineon last month agreed to sell the unit that makes semiconductors for wireless devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone to Intel Corp. After the disposal, Infineon will get most of its revenue from chips for power and energy-efficiency applications such as wind turbines, and from semiconductors for cars.
The wireless division “made a disproportionately higher contribution to the increase in guidance driven especially by higher than expected smartphone sales,” Infineon said today.
In the fourth quarter, sales will rise about 15 percent from the third quarter, Infineon said. The margin will be at 18 percent to 20 percent, the company said.
On Aug. 27, Intel, the world’s biggest chipmaker, cut its forecast for the third quarter, citing the weaker-than-expected consumer demand for personal computers. Infineon will report fiscal fourth-quarter results on Nov. 16. STMicroelectronics NV, Europe’s largest semiconductor maker, will release third-quarter results on Oct. 20.
invitation for wild speculation - Bill and/or Scott not at Kaufman presentation
What called them away?
short position the highest I can remember:
08/31/2010 6,093,092 6.88 386,842 15.75
Sprint Faces 4G Dilemma
Carrier's Board Debates Whether to Let Rival T-Mobile USA Invest in Clearwire
By JOANN S. LUBLIN And SPENCER E. ANTE
Sprint Nextel Corp. has bet its future on offering speedy data services to mobile devices over a new high-speed, "4G" network and has joined with upstart Clearwire Corp. to build it.
But Clearwire has a problem: It needs billions of dollars to finish building its nationwide network. And now Sprint, which owns 54% of Clearwire, must decide whether to fund the project itself or turn to a competitor for help.
Sprint's board of directors is debating whether to let rival cellphone operator T-Mobile USA invest in Clearwire, three people familiar with the situation said.
Such a decision would consolidate the U.S. telecom landscape by enabling the country's third- and fourth-largest wireless operators to use the same next-generation network.
T-Mobile USA Chief Executive Robert Dotson said early this year that his carrier is looking at its options for 4G, including having conversations with Clearwire. However, T-Mobile USA hasn't put a proposal on the table, so no decision is imminent, and some Sprint board members are adamantly opposed to the idea, these people said.
Sprint has the lead now with the country's only 4G network via Clearwire, which can offer speedy Web surfing and stream videos to smartphones and other devices. But it will face competition later this year from industry leader Verizon Wireless and next year from AT&T Inc.
To stay ahead, Clearwire needs billions of dollars in funding, which would enable it to expand from its current base of 49 cities to the country as a whole. The company must also decide whether to stick with its current technology, or switch to a standard that has been adopted by Verizon and AT&T.
Some Sprint directors support allowing T-Mobile USA, a unit of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG, to make a sizable investment in Clearwire, one person familiar with the matter said. "T-Mobile would love to be in," the person said. But does Sprint "want to help them that much?" the person said. "And at what price?"
Sprint directors "always talk about Clearwire," another person familiar with the matter said. Directors "are considering alternatives and would consider [T-Mobile] if they came forward," this person said.
T-Mobile, which lacks a 4G strategy of its own, faces the choice of upgrading its own wireless network or partnering with another 4G provider such as Clearwire.
The carrier doesn't yet need additional wireless capacity, but is "actively exploring a variety of options that would provide" it, spokesman Reid Walker said.
Sprint's position as a founder of Clearwire allows it to block other companies from becoming strategic investors.
Whether to allow T-Mobile under the tent is gaining urgency, as analysts expect Clearwire will need another injection of funding around year's end.
Sprint, which merged its wireless broadband unit with Clearwire in 2008, invested $1.2 billion into the company in late 2009. Credit Suisse analyst Jonathan Chaplin estimates Clearwire needs $4 billion to cover 200 million people in the U.S. by the end of 2011, up from the 120 million people it expects to cover by the end of this year.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile USA's options have grown as hedge fund Harbinger Capital Partners moves ahead with its risky plan to build a nationwide 4G network from scratch. Teaming up with T-Mobile USA could accelerate Harbinger's plans while giving the carrier its own access to wireless broadband.
"The last thing Sprint should want is another competitor with a 4G network," Credit Suisse's Mr. Chaplin said.
Sprint must decide whether it makes more sense to allow new investors or enlarge its own stake and potentially take control of Clearwire, another option executives are considering. That could be done by buying shares from other Clearwire investors, which include Comcast Corp., Intel Corp., Google Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc.
Some Sprint directors are fighting hard against a T-Mobile USA investment in Clearwire, one person familiar with the matter said. Giving T-Mobile a big Clearwire stake means "making a competitor stronger in an area of competitive advantage" for Sprint, this person said.
Directors "are still struggling" with choosing their Clearwire investment strategy and haven't set a deadline for a decision, another person familiar with the matter said. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has yet to endorse a particular approach, people familiar with the matter said.
The question is ultimately a matter of price and the size of the Clearwire stake T-Mobile USA would want, one person familiar with the matter said. Sprint probably would insist that T-Mobile pay a premium share price because "there are benefits that come with the investment," including discounted service rates, this person said.
Clearwire shares traded Tuesday at $6.41 on the Nasdaq Stock Market, giving the company a market capitalization of about $6.3 billion.
Spreadtrum Rallies; Seen Picking Up 2G Biz After INTC/IFX Deal
Posted by Eric Savitz
Spreadtrum (SPRD), a Shanghai-based producer of baseband chips for mobile phones, is trading sharply higher in anticipation of a potential boost to business from the Intel (INTC) acquisition of Infineon’s (IFX) wireless business.
HSBC analyst Yolanda Wang asserted in a research note today that Intel isn’t likely to be focused on Infineon’s existing 2G handset customers - and that the result could be a business opportunity for other players in the segment - including Spreadtrum and MediaTek - to win business Infineon now holds with key players like Nokia, LG and Samsung. She says there could be as many as 100 million units of 2G baseband chips at play.
SPRD today has spiked $1.48, or 14.6%, to $11.63.
unusually heavy volume today....
Intel Said to Be Near Purchase of Infineon's Wireless Unit
By Ragnhild Kjetland, Aaron Kirchfeld and Ian King - Aug 26, 2010
Intel Corp., the world’s largest chipmaker, is close to an agreement to buy Infineon Technologies AG’s wireless business, three people with direct knowledge of the discussions said.
An announcement could come as early as this week, the people said, declining to be identified because the talks are private. Infineon, Europe’s second-largest chipmaker, is seeking about 1.5 billion euros ($1.91 billion) for its wireless business, two people familiar with the talks said on Aug. 2.
A purchase of the unit, which makes processors used in Apple Inc.’s iPhone, follows Intel’s $7.68 billion acquisition of McAfee Inc., announced Aug. 19. Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini is using deals to get chips into a wider range of devices. While Intel semiconductors run more than 80 percent of the world’s personal computers, they’re absent from phones now on the market.
“Intel’s big strategy is to be at the heart of computing everywhere,” said Alex Gauna, an analyst at JMP Securities LLC in San Francisco, who rates the company “market outperform” and doesn’t own the shares. “The McAfee acquisition helps make that a secure equation and a potential Infineon acquisition would give them inroads in the mobility space.
Infineon rose 5.2 percent to 4.65 euros at the close of trading at 5:30 p.m. in Frankfurt, its biggest gain in more than three months. Intel fell 22 cents to $18.26 at 1:17 p.m. on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
Intel has the cash and is “sophisticated enough” to manage both purchases at the same time, Gauna said.
Up Against ARM
The Infineon unit, which also makes chips for Samsung Electronics Co.’s Galaxy S phone, had sales of 346 million euros in the fiscal third quarter, a 38 percent increase from a year earlier. The gains were mainly due to a “ramp-up of new smartphone and entry-level phone platforms at several major customers,” Infineon said last month.
Infineon spokesman Kay Laudien declined to comment, as did Martin Strobel, an Intel spokesman in Germany.
Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, is hitching its mobile ambitions to a scaled-down version of its PC chips called Atom. The company has signed agreements aimed at landing its products in devices made by Nokia Oyj and LG Electronics Inc.
The market for processors that run smartphones is dominated by technology from ARM Holdings Plc, which licenses its designs to companies including Qualcomm Inc., Texas Instruments Inc. and Samsung. Qualcomm produces chips that combine the functions of applications and baseband processors.
Infineon said on Aug. 2 that it had made “significant progress” in talks with potential buyers, whom it declined to name. The “objective of a potential transaction is the strategic development” of the unit, the Neubiberg, Germany-based company said at the time.
Infineon makes the baseband processors that control radio functions of phones. Intel processors run the software that powers the handsets.
Big jump in short interest:
08/13/2010 5,700,662 8.56 416,723 13.68
07/30/2010 5,251,058 7.08 349,698 15.02
I was hoping for Apple. But they'll do.
Perhaps the Nortel buy is just a smokescreen...perhaps the real target is to partner on a purchase of the Infineon wireless chip business. $300M, a partner, and about a billion in debt gets you in the chip business.
But this time with customers built in.
Panasonic Offers $9.4 Billion to Buy Out Two Units
By Mariko Yasu - Jul 29, 2010
Panasonic Corp., the world’s largest maker of rechargeable batteries, offered to buy out Sanyo Electric Co. and Panasonic Electric Works Co. for 818.4 billion yen ($9.4 billion) to help expand its renewable energy business.
Panasonic, which may sell as much as 500 billion yen of new stock to fund the deal, offered 138 yen for each Sanyo share it doesn’t own and 1,110 yen for every Electric Works stock, the Osaka-based company said in statement today. That’s 17 percent and 14 percent more than their July 28 closing prices. The units surged above the offer in Tokyo trading today.
The purchases would build on President Fumio Ohtsubo’s plans to expand business such as solar panels amid mounting competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp. in televisions. Panasonic fell the most in more than a year in Tokyo trading on concern the cost of the purchase may strain a company reeling from two years of losses.
“Panasonic faces fierce competition from Samsung and Sony in consumer electronics,” Yuji Fujimori, a Tokyo-based analyst at Barclays Capital. “Its rivals are not as competitive in the energy-related products and household electrics systems that Panasonic aims to strengthen.”
Sanyo jumped 26 percent to close at 149 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and Panasonic Electric Works climbed 15 percent to 1,124 yen after the Nikkei newspaper reported the buyout plans earlier. Panasonic, the world’s largest maker of plasma TVs, declined 7.7 percent to close at 1,077 yen.
The maker of Viera TVs expects the buyouts to add 60 billion yen to Panasonic’s annual operating profit, Ohtsubo said at a briefing in Osaka today.
Largest Acquisition
The combined acquisitions would be the largest in Japan this year, according to Bloomberg data. Panasonic owned 50 percent of Sanyo and 51 percent of Electric Works as of today, according to the statement.
The offer, which will start on Aug. 23 and complete on Oct. 6, values Sanyo at 51 times estimated earnings for the year ending March 2011 and almost 36 times estimated profit at Electric Works, according to analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. By comparison, companies on the Nikkei 225 Stock Average trade at a multiple of 18, according to Bloomberg data.
Some shareholders said the offer is too low.
“There is no way we would accept this offer,” Huy Hoang, a fund manager at HDH Capital Management Pte, which owns 1.4 million shares of Sanyo, wrote in an e-mail. “Panasonic is trying to time the market and take advantage of minority shareholders.”
Share Swap
Shareholders of Sanyo and Electric Works have the option of accepting the parent’s offer or taking Panasonic shares, according to the statement. The company plans to complete the purchase by around April next year, it said.
Under Japanese law, a company that acquires at least two- thirds of a target through a tender offer can force minority shareholders to give up their holdings through a share swap, said Masaji Hashimoto, a lawyer at Atsumi & Partners in Tokyo.
The maker of Lumix cameras today raised its full-year net income forecast to 85 billion yen from a previous projection of 50 billion yen. The company also increased its estimate for operating profit by 24 percent to 310 billion yen.
In 2008, Panasonic agreed to buy a controlling stake in Sanyo from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Daiwa Securities Group Inc. and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. Panasonic completed its offer for Sanyo in December last year after clearance from antitrust regulators in the U.S., Europe, Japan and China.
Sanyo was the largest maker of rechargeable batteries in the year ended March 2009, followed by Sony, South Korea’s Samsung SDI Co., Panasonic, China’s BYD Co. and LG Chem Ltd., according to estimates at Japan Economic Center Co. Panasonic and Sanyo accounted for a combined 43 percent of the market, according the Tokyo-based researcher.
Uniting Panasonic
Panasonic said it plans to combine the three companies’ brands, though Sanyo’s name may continue to be used in some regions. The three companies will unite and slim down their operations to start a new business structure in January 2012, Panasonic said.
Panasonic Electric Works, the unit that makes lighting systems, electrical wiring fittings such as wall sockets and electronic materials used in chips, became an affiliate in 1935 and split as a separate entity in 1945.
Panasonic, Japan’s biggest maker of home appliances, paid 146 billion yen for a majority stake in the lighting unit in a tender offer in 2003.
Nomura Holdings Inc. advised Panasonic on the latest deal, while Abeam M&A Consulting advised Sanyo and Daiwa Securities Group Inc. advised Electric Works.
Panasonic Said to Offer to Buy Rest of Shares of Sanyo, Panasonic Electric
By Maki Shiraki and Mariko Yasu - Jul 28, 2010
Panasonic Corp. will offer to buy the shares of Sanyo Electric Co. and Panasonic Electric Works Co. it doesn’t own, three people familiar with the matter said, .
The companies will make an announcement today, the people said, declining to provide financial details and asking not to be identified before the public disclosure. Panasonic may offer more than 900 billion yen ($10 billion) to buy the shares this year, the Nikkei newspaper reported, without saying where it got the information.
Panasonic tumbled to the lowest in more than a year in Tokyo trading on concern the cost of the purchase may strain a company reeling from two years of losses. Full control of the world’s largest rechargeable-battery maker and Japan’s biggest producer of electrical fittings may help Panasonic compete against Samsung Electronics Co. and Sony Corp.
“Making them wholly-owned can cut off redundancies of operations and speed up management decisions,” said Yasuo Nakane, a Deutsche Bank AG analyst based in Tokyo. “This decision came out earlier than people anticipated because expectations were that this would happen next year.”
Sanyo surged as much as 24 percent to 146 yen as of 10:05 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, while Panasonic, the world’s largest maker of plasma televisions, declined as much as 6.5 percent to 1,091 yen. Panasonic Electric Works shares were untraded as bids to buy outnumbered offers to sell.
Panasonic isn’t the source of the information for the report, Panasonic said in a statement today. Sanyo and Panasonic Electrics Works issued similar comments.
The Nikkei reported Panasonic plans to conduct a tender offer or stock swap for the remaining shares. It’s considering a capital increase to fund the acquisitions, according to the report.
Panasonic plans to sell off or shut Sanyo’s unprofitable businesses such as home appliances to focus on rechargeable batteries and solar panels, according to the report.
Intel, Samsung May Compete for Infineon Mobile-Phone Unit, Citigroup Says
By Ian King - Jul 28, 2010
Intel Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co., the world’s two-largest chip companies, may compete to acquire Infineon Technologies AG’s mobile-phone business, according to Citigroup.
An acquisition or partnership with Samsung would be a better fit for the German chipmaker’s business and thus more likely, Glen Yeung, a San Francisco-based Citigroup analyst, said today in a research report.
Samsung, also the world’s second-largest maker of mobile phones, would use Infineon’s technology to help broaden its chip business beyond memory, Yeung wrote. Intel chips run more than 80 percent of the world’s personal computers, making the company the biggest semiconductor maker. It is trying to parlay its dominance of PCs into a slice of the handset market.
Intel doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation, said Chuck Mulloy, a spokesman for Santa Clara, California-based Intel. Christian Hoenicke, a spokesman for Neubiberg, Germany-based Infineon, declined to comment. Chris Goodhart, a U.S.-based spokeswoman for Samsung, which is based in Suwon, South Korea, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.
Earlier today, Infineon Chief Executive Officer Peter Bauer said he continues to be happy with the wireless solutions business. The chipmaker hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and opened a data room for potential buyers to review its books, according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not be identified by name because it hasn’t been made public yet.
Infineon’s wireless-solutions business makes baseband processors, the chips that control the radio functions in phones. It will have sales of 1.26 billion euros ($1.63 billion) this year, a gain of 29 percent, according to a Citigroup estimate.
Largest Customers
Its two largest customers are Apple Inc. and LG Electronics Inc., each supplying about 30 percent of sales. An Infineon baseband chip powers Apple’s iPhone. The unit also supplies Nokia Oyj, Samsung and Research In Motion Ltd., according to Yeung’s report.
Intel fell 5 cents to $21.53 at 12.18 p.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. Infineon rose 13 cents to 5.18 euros in Frankfurt.
About 315 million mobile phones shipped in the first quarter, according to Gartner Inc. That’s almost quadruple the 84 million PCs shipped in the period.
China 3G phone-user total up sharply to 25 million
By Owen Fletcher
BEIJING (MarketWatch) -- China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said Tuesday the country had 25.2 million users of third-generation mobile wireless technology at the end of June, up from 18.08 million at the end of March.
China's three telecommunications giants are in a race to recruit users of their 3G services, which allow faster data downloads and attract higher fees. Each of the three companies uses its own 3G standard, with China Mobile Ltd. (NYSE:CHL) , the country's largest mobile company by subscribers, promoting a locally developed standard.
Earlier Tuesday, China Mobile said it had 10.46 million 3G users at the end of June. On Monday, China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. (NYSE:CHU) said it had 7.56 million 3G users.
The data imply that China Telecom Corp. (NYSE:CHA) , which doesn't publicly disclose the figure, had 7.18 million 3G users at the end of June. But government data can vary slightly from the figures provided by the carriers.
Infineon Shares Rise on Report of Talks to Sell Mobile-Chip Unit to Intel
By Ragnhild Kjetland - Jul 9, 2010
Infineon Technologies AG rose as much as 2.6 percent in Frankfurt trading after Die Welt reported that the German semiconductor maker is close to selling its mobile- chip unit to Intel Corp. for as much as $1.4 billion.
The two sides have met several times in the past few weeks, though a contract has not yet been signed, the German newspaper said, without saying where it got the information. Infineon spokesman Kay Laudien and Intel spokesman Martin Strobel both declined to comment when contacted by Bloomberg.
Infineon’s wireless solutions business had 917 million euros ($1.13 billion) in sales in the 12 months ended Sept. 30, or about 30 percent of the Neubiberg, Germany-based company’s total revenue. Mobile-phone chip-manufacturing capacity is becoming more important as devices such as Apple Inc.’s iPhone drive demand for the specialized components.
“Intel is trying to build a strong strategy in the mobile market and willing to invest massively in this landscape, and a Infineon acquisition could be just another step towards that end,” Malik Kamal-Saadi, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media in London, said via phone today. “However, Intel would face some technical and strategic issues while integrating Infineon wireless with its mobile media processor portfolio.”
Infineon is weighing options for its mobile-chip unit that could include a sale, two people familiar with the matter said June 15. The chipmaker hired JPMorgan Chase & Co. and opened a room for potential buyers to review its books, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified because the situation is private.
Strategy
“It will be crucial to see how management reinvests the proceeds” if Infineon sells the mobile-phone unit, said Bernd Laux, head of German equity research at Credit Agricole Cheuvreux in Frankfurt. Infineon should use the possible proceeds for acquisitions to bolster its industrial unit, he said.
Infineon jumped as much as 13 cents to 5.14 euros and traded at 5.05 euros as of 12:00 p.m. Before today, the stock had risen 29 percent this year.
In the first six months of the current fiscal year, the wireless unit’s sales rose 34 percent to 537 million euros. The unit also returned to an operating profit of 26 million euros from a loss of 73 million euros in the same period last year.
Customers of Infineon’s mobile-chip unit, which also makes radio-frequency and power management chips and transceivers for satellite radio, include Apple Inc. Ericsson AB, LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
“The whole mobile chipset business is getting increasingly commoditized, so the industry will definitely consolidate,” Informa’s Malik Kamal-Saadi said. “It doesn’t really make sense to have 10 to 15 players in this market landscape. The coming years will definitely reveal more mergers and acquisitions to leave the mobile chipset market with only 3 to 4 key players.”
Spreadtrum Selects Teradyne UltraFLEX for Testing 3G Mobile Baseband
NORTH READING, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Teradyne, Inc. (NYSE: TER) announced that Spreadtrum Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: SPRD; "Spreadtrum") has selected the UltraFLEX™ test system with the UltraPin800™ digital channel card to test its dual mode HSDPA/TD-SCDMA and GSM/GPRS/EDGE mobile baseband devices. Spreadtrum’s integrated 3G mobile baseband SOCs are designed to support smart phones, feature phones and PC data card solutions.
“This design win reinforces Teradyne China’s ability to support local fabless companies who use the UltraFLEX platform for both engineering development and production”
“The mobile market in China demands highly integrated solutions that can be delivered quickly at low cost,” said Brian Chen, vice president of Operations of Spreadtrum. “The UltraFLEX platform multisite architecture provides cost effective test for our mobile baseband devices, and the IG-XL™ programming environment coupled with Teradyne’s applications support are critical for achieving our time-to-market goals.”
“The UltraFLEX platform with its SyncLink™ architecture, background DSP processing, and expansive portfolio of digital, mixed-signal and RF instrumentation enables us to provide highly cost effective multisite solutions for the next generation of mobile SOCs,” said Greg Smith, manager, Teradyne’s Broadband, Computing and Storage Business Unit. “Spreadtrum is one of China’s leading TD-SCDMA baseband providers, and we are very pleased with its selection of the UltraFLEX. We look forward to working with Spreadtrum and its worldwide manufacturing partners as the mobile ecosystem continues to grow and evolve.”
"This design win reinforces Teradyne China’s ability to support local fabless companies who use the UltraFLEX platform for both engineering development and production," said SI Wei, vice president of Teradyne and Greater China Field Operations manager. "It proves again that Teradyne China’s local support infrastructure and technical skills provide a complete test solution from load board/probe card design, through program development to mass production for high-end SOC devices manufacturers in China."
Fujitsu to Takeover Toshiba's Mobile Unit
By JURO OSAWA
TOKYO—Fujitsu Ltd. will effectively take control of Toshiba Corp.'s struggling cellphone handset business, aiming to take a leadership position in the domestic market while coping with challenges from foreign rivals such as Apple Inc.'s iPhone.
Fujitsu and Toshiba said Thursday they have reached a basic agreement to merge their mobile-phone operations, a move that will create Japan's second largest handset maker. Fujitsu, the larger of the two, will take a majority stake in the new joint venture to be launched Oct. 1.
AFP/Getty Images
Toshiba's handset models include the "TG-02" mobile phone. The venture with Fujitsu could help turn around the unprofitable business.
"Our handset business is profitable and strong as it is, but we can't assume it will remain so," said Fujitsu spokesman Etsuro Yamada. "Competition is also coming from the outside," he said in a reference to the popularity of the iPhone in Japan.
The merger plan is the latest in a series of realignment steps in Japan's large but nearly saturated domestic cellphone market. Japanese handset makers are under pressure to streamline and consolidate, as they come under attack in the crowded home market from newcomers such as the iPhone, Research in Motion Ltd.'s Blackberry and Taiwanese handset maker HTC Corp.
With additional resources from Toshiba, Fujitsu could have a better shot at a chunk of Japan's still-nascent market for smartphones, one of the few growth areas in the country's rather sluggish handset market. Tokyo-based MM Research Institute forecasts that the Japanese market for smartphones will expand 41% to 3.3 million units in the current fiscal year through March, from 2.34 million units last fiscal year.
The move would also help Fujitsu diversify its customer base. Fujitsu currently makes handsets exclusively for Japan's largest cellphone carrier, NTT DoCoMo Inc., while Toshiba supplies all three major carriers.
For Toshiba, the merger is an attempt to distance itself from unprofitable operations by letting Fujitsu effectively oversee its cellphone business.
Market Beat
Mobile Phone Mashup Boosts Shares
"For us, this (merger) agreement is one of our restructuring steps," said Toshiba spokesman Keisuke Ohmori. In the fiscal year ended March, Toshiba's mobile phone business made an unspecified operating loss, while its revenue dropped 44% to about 90 billion yen ($985 million).
According to MM Research, the merger would give the combined entity a market share of about 18.7%, putting it in second place after Sharp Corp., which held a 26.2% share in the year ended March, and ahead of Panasonic Corp.'s mobile-phone unit, which had a 15.1% share.
The industry has experienced a flurry of consolidation over the past few years as the domestic cellphone market shrank.
Earlier this month, NEC Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Casio Computer Co. joined forces to create a single mobile-phone company. In 2008, Kyocera Corp. bought Sanyo Electric Corp.'s cellphone operations.
However, even after pooling resources to become more competitive, most Japanese cellphone makers still have little overseas presence. The new entity to be formed by Fujitsu and Toshiba would have less than 1% global market share combined, according to data from the U.S. market research firm Strategy Analytics.
The two companies will continue to discuss the specific details of the deal, and will sign a final accord around the end of July, they said.
(Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon (IFXGn.DE) is in talks with Intel (INTC.O) about a sale of its wireless chip business, German business daily Financial Times Deutschland reported on Monday, citing sources at Infineon.
DEALS
Infineon and Intel were not immediately available for comment.
Munich-based Infineon, which supplies chips for Apple's (AAPL.O) iPad as well as components for Nokia (NOK1V.HE), Samsung (005930.KS) and Research in Motion (RIM.TO), is unsure whether a divestment makes sense, the paper said.
Some analysts have said it would make sense for Intel to buy Infineon's wireless business, but Infineon Chief Executive Peter Bauer told Reuters in March he saw no reason why the chipmaker should not try to further develop the business.
While the mobile phone chip business is likely to be a growth driver for Infineon, it may be sub-scale when compared with other rivals such as ST Ericsson (ERICb.ST) and Qualcomm (QCOM.O), FTD said.
Sprint Says It Has Long Waiting List For HTC EVO 4G Phone
Posted by Eric Savitz
Sprint Nextel (S) has a long waiting list of customers for the new HTC EVO 4G smart phone, which it unveiled to some fanfare at the recent CTIA trade show, the company told Reuters. Sprint will offer the service on the WiMax network run by Clearwire (CLWR), which is majority-owned by Sprint.
The company also said it is in talks with electronics companies, including General Electric (GE) and Samsung, about embedding WiMax connections into consumer devices, including devices like e-readers, cameras, washing machines and medical equipment.
Nokia “Increasingly Vulnerable” In Smart Phones, Needham Says
Posted by Eric Savitz
Needham analyst Charlie Wolf this afternoon launched coverage of Nokia (NOK) with a Hold rating, asserting that the company is “increasingly vulnerable” to loss of share in the smart phone market.
“Although it has a dominant share in the mobile phone market, Nokia has fallen behind the innovators in the smart phone segment, where software applications and services are defining the winners and losers,” he writes in a research note. “Nokia is invisible in the U.S., is rapidly losing share in Europe and its leading position in emerging markets appears increasingly vulnerable.”
Wolf contends that “Nokia’s problem” is that the Symbian operating system software is a generation behind the iPhone and Android software. “With Nokia’s heritage in low cost, volume manufacturing, not software development, it’s unlikely the company will ever catch up with the companies that are defining the market.”
Wolf expects NOK to earn 95 cents a share in 2010, and $1.06 in 2011.
Short interest decline:
04/30/2010 4,991,054 (5.18) 625,782 7.98
Verizon Wireless is working with Google Inc. on a tablet computer, Verizon Wireless Chief Executive Lowell McAdam said Tuesday, as the company works to catch up with iPad host AT&T Inc. in the area of devices that connect to wireless networks.
Tablets are part of the "next big wave of opportunities," Mr. McAdam said in an interview. He said the work on a tablet is part of a deepening relationship between the largest U.S. wireless carrier by subscribers and Google, which has carved out a space in mobile devices with its Android operating system.
"We're looking at all the things Google has in its archives that we could put on a tablet to make it a great experience," he said.
Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC, declined to add details on timing of a joint Google-Verizon tablet, or which manufacturer might make it
Nokia revamps structure, appoints new execs
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nokia Corp. (NYSE:NPK) (HELSINKI:FI:NOK1V) , the world's largest mobile operator, on Tuesday announced its second management reorganization in less than a year. The Finnish company said Rick Simonson, the head of its key mobile phones unit, would retire. The company will reorganize its structure in three units: mobile solutions, to be headed by Anssi Vanjoki, mobile phones, to be run by Mary McDowell, and markets, headed by Niklas Savander.
Goldman disciplined by NYSE, SEC on short sales
By Jacob Bunge
The Securities and Exchange Commission and the regulatory arm of NYSE Euronext (NYSE:NYX) disciplined the equities arm of Goldman Sachs & Co. on Tuesday, tied to alleged violations of rules on short-selling stocks.
In December 2008 and January 2009, Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing LP failed to close out failures to deliver positions on some stocks, while accepting hundreds of short-sale orders in stocks in which the firm had open fail-to-deliver positions, according to a Tuesday notice from NYSE Regulation.
The disciplinary action comes as Goldman Sachs grapples with SEC accusations of civil fraud tied to its dealings in the mortgage market, where the bank stands accused of stacking the deck against its own clients.
Goldman Sachs neither admitted or denied the findings announced Tuesday. NYSE Euronext imposed a censure and a $450,000 fine on the firm, an amount that will be reduced by a $225,000 civil monetary penalty related to proceedings instituted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to the notice.
Goldman Sachs & Co. is a unit of parent company, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) .
On the same page as you -- just wanted to confirm that the production model was the same as submitted to the FCC.
Some on this board seem to find ways to sew seeds of doubt. Imagine that,
Ifixit - Apple ipad breakdown:
* Who would've thought: Apple uses the same 3G baseband processor in both the iPhone 3GS and the iPad 3G.
* The baseband processor in question is the Infineon 337S3754 PMB 8878 X-Gold IC. It was actually white-labeled on the production unit, but with enough sleuthing we were able to confirm its true identity.
Infineon hikes outlook as sees lasting demand ahead
* Forecast FY sales yoy growth in "high 30s" pct
* Sees FY margin of more than 10 percent.
* Sees Q3 revenue margin up 2-4 pct points vs Q2
* Shares down 1.5 pct (Adds analyst comment, share price)
By Nicola Leske
FRANKFURT, April 28 (Reuters) - German chipmaker Infineon <IFXGn.DE> raised its full-year outlook on the back of healthy growth across its business on continued strong demand, a sign the market is recovering faster than expected. Infineon, which was fighting to survive just a year ago as demand fell off on the back of the global financial crisis, has turned itself around thanks to strict cost savings, a capital increase to help pay down debt, and a rise in tech spending.
"Growth during the second quarter exceeded our original expectations," Chief Executive Peter Bauer said on Wednesday.
Infineon raised its outlook for its fiscal year to the end of September, saying it now aims for year-on-year sales growth in the "high 30s" percentage rate with a full-year margin of more than 10 percent.
Previously, the company had said it expected revenue growth of more than 20 percent with a high single-digit margin.
Infineon forecast third-quarter revenue growing at a high single-digit percentage rate and its margin to increase between 2 and 4 percentage points month on month.
Infineon chips can be found in mobile phone handsets by Nokia <NOK1V.HE>, Samsung <005930.KS> and LG <066570.KS>. It is an open industry secret that it also supplies the chips for Apple's <AAPL.O> iPhone and its iPad, even though Infineon declines to comment on its relationship with Apple.
Infineon, which is also Europe's biggest supplier of chips used in cars, said first-quarter operating profit from its four major divisions -- Automotive, Wireless Solutions, Industrial & Multimarket and Chip Card & Security -- was up 25 percent at 110 million euros ($146.5 million) and sales rose 55 percent to 1 billion euros.
Infineon shares were down 1.5 percent by 0740 GMT, underperforming the German blue chip index DAX <.GDAXI> which was down 0.7 percent.
DZ Bank analyst Harald Schnitzer called the results and outlook encouraging and said he expected the strong performance to continue.
"Impressive set of figures. Given the company's strong market position, particularly in auto and industry electronics, we remain very positive for the stock," Schnitzer said.
"We expect that Wireless will get stronger within the next quarters especially due to the strong relationship with Apple."
Infineon's results chimed with forecast-beating quarterly results from larger U.S. rival Intel <INTC.O>, Dutch chip equipment maker ASML <ASML.AS> <ASML.O> and Franco-Italian group STMicroelectronics <STM.PA>.
Infineon trades on a 12-month forward price/earnings ratio of 16.4 times, a premium to ASML's 13.8 and STMicroelectronics 14.3, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine, which weights estimates by analysts' previous accuracy. ($1=.7508 Euro) (Editing by Knut Engelmann and Karen Foster)
Cell phone industry declares end of recession, says iSuppli
Press release, April 28; Willie Teng, DIGITIMES [Wednesday 28 April 2010]
The cell phone industry is proclaiming the end of the recession for the segment following an outstanding final quarter of 2009 and a projected substantial growth for smartphones in 2010, according to iSuppli. A resilient performer in an otherwise moribund world economy during the past year, cell phones ended 2009 with shipments of 1.15 billion units. While that number is down from the overall 2008 figure of 1.2 billion handsets, shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009 represented the culmination of an increasing growth pattern throughout all of last year. Compared to third-quarter shipments of 290 million, about 335 million mobile handsets were shipped in the fourth quarter, up 15.5%.
"Given the recovery of the market in the final quarter of 2009, and with Europe, Latin America and the Middle East/Africa regions doing exceptionally well during the period, the recession can be said to be officially over for the cell phone industry," said Tina Teng, senior analyst for wireless systems at iSuppli. "The continued growth this year of total handsets - up a projected 11.3 percent to 1.3 billion units - further
bolsters such a view."
Among the various handset categories, smartphones - defined as handsets with a high-level operating system - are projected to expand 35.5% in 2010. Smartphone growth will be driven by a number of promising developments, including the introduction of entry-level smartphones, enthusiasm from vendors across the mobile phone and PC industries, the prevalence of 3G network deployments and the promotion of data-centric services in mature markets.
With handset shipments in the fourth quarter of 2009 amounting to approximately 257.6 million units, the Top-5 players accounted for a whopping 77% share of the total handset market. Nokia remained the leader of the handset market, shipping 126.9 million handsets during the period, giving it a 37.9% share of market. Runner-up Samsung Electronics, which has introduced its own smartphone operating system, held the number two spot with a 20.6% share.
The remainder of the Top-5 is rounded out by LG Electronics, in third place with a 10.1% share; Sony Ericsson in fourth, with a 4.4% share; and Chinese giant ZTE, whose impressive 77% growth from the earlier quarter vaulted it into fifth place, with a 4% share.
Dick Fuld and the executives at Lehman had the highest insider ownership on Wall Street.
Not always a good formula for stock performance.