ARM Holdings to Scale Back Operating Expenses After Big 1Q Investment -- CEO

By Stu Woo

LONDON--British chip-designer ARM Holdings PLC (ARM.LN) plans to scale back its operating expenses after a major investment in the first quarter of 2016 to compete with the likes of Intel Corp., Chief Executive Simon Segars said Wednesday.

ARM currently designs the chips used in more than 95% of the world's smartphones, but it announced last year an initiative to focus on processors for networking infrastructure, servers and "the Internet of Things"--or everyday objects connected to the Internet.

ARM said Wednesday it increased its headcount by 20% over the past year, reaching about 4,000 employees, and operational expenses in the first quarter rose to 157 million pounds ($225.2 million), up 36% from the same period a year earlier.

"Going forward, we are expecting our operating expenditures to be more in line with [quarter-over-quarter] growth, which is more in the single-percentage range," Mr. Segars said. "What we're tracking very carefully are the investments we announced last year."

Write to Stu Woo at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 20, 2016 07:18 ET (11:18 GMT)

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