Qualcomm Inc (QCOM)

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Qualcomm CEO Sees 'Substantial' Dividend Boosts In Future

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Wednesday November 3, 7:02 PM EST


NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) boosted its dividend twice during fiscal 2004, which ended in September, and the company is "well-positioned for substantial increases" in the future, Chairman and Chief Executive Irwin Jacobs said Wednesday.

Qualcomm now pays out 28 cents a share annually, giving a dividend yield of 0.7% based on the stock's 4 p.m. EST closing price of $39.87.

Qualcomm owns a major wireless-communications technology called CDMA, or code division multiple access, used on the networks of mobile-phone carriers like Sprint Corp. (FON) and Verizon Wireless. CDMA phones make up 24% of the global wireless market, up from 20% in June 2003, Jacobs said.

Phone makers that license CDMA technology for their handsets didn't ship as many devices in the fourth quarter as had been expected - 41 million versus Qualcomm's 46 million estimate.



That was due to a slowdown in the South Korean wireless market and handset makers having excess inventory, said Qualcomm Chief Financial Officer Bill Keitel, who joined Jacobs on a teleconference to discuss the company's fiscal fourth-quarter results.

Qualcomm's operating expenses, which include research and development, increased during the fourth quarter. Keitel, the CFO, predicted a further 10% to 12% rise in the fiscal first quarter from the fourth quarter.

Sprint and Verizon Wireless are both deploying high-speed wireless networks that use a communications technology called EV-DO.

Qualcomm's shipments of chips for EV-DO phones may double in 2005 from the 12 million shipped in 2004, said Sanjay Jha, president of Qualcomm's CDMA Technologies Group.

Jacobs, the CEO, said 10 million people subscribe to EV-DO service globally.

-By Nick Baker, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; [e-mail]