ARM, the British chip company which designed the 'brains' behind Apple's iPad, reported 73pc rise in full-year profits, lifted by strong demand from tablet computers and smartphones.
More than 1.1bn ARM-processor based chips found their way into mobile devices in the fourth quarter, the company said in its results statement. This led to a better-than-expected 47pc rise in the chip designer's profit in the final three months of the year to £47.6m on revenues up 34pc to £113.9m.
Warren East, the chief executive of Arm, said: "2011 will bring exciting opportunities and challenges as ARM enters competitive new markets and we are well positioned to succeed with leading technology, an innovative business model and a thriving ecosystem of partners."
ARM shares rose 2.7pc in early trading in London. The company, which began life in a converted turkey shed 20 years ago and joined the FTSE 100 last year, has seen its shares rise 179pc over the past twelve months.
The company licenses its designs to technology companies and collects between 5 cents and 60 cents in royalties from every device sold.
