1 billion phone & tablet chips shipped

Chip designers ARM have posted a 21% rise in net profits, on the back of 1.1 billion shipments for the second quarter. The UK-based licensing firm posted a second quarter net profit of £26.6 million compared with £21.9 million for the same period in 2010. Warren East, CEO for ARM, sees plenty of room for growth in the future. "Major semiconductor vendors and consumer electronics companies are making long-term commitments to using ARM technology in their future product developments,” East says. "As the addressable market for ARM technology grows, we continue to invest in the development of innovative technology, whilst simultaneously increasing revenues, profits and cash.” ARM signed 29 new technology licenses in the quarter. Although they don’t manufacture chips, ARM says its technology is used in over 95% of the world’s mobile handsets and one quarter of all electronic devices.