Wolfson Microelectronics Share Discussion Threads

[glyn10] 26/6/2012 15:39

Still holding and still kicking myself for not selling @525p !!!

I think 300p is still possible, not sure about in the next 2 months, maybe 3 - 6 months.

[domtheone] 26/6/2012 15:06

11 months and 67 posts.....

Everyone still holding/been adding?

Had these totally tucked away while I was travelling. Only noticed these as I saw them on a leaders board on the Telegraph website. Not a bad day to check in after 11 months away!

Pittance volume for such an announcement. Looking back on the last year it appears that this is totally off the radar as far as volume goes.

Can we have 300p in the next 2 months and I think i'll get rid then.

[glyn10] 26/6/2012 09:56

I would expect that Samsung had some confidentiality clause in their contract which means WLF can only now make the announcement.

[jonnyno1] 26/6/2012 07:42

eh? it's already on the market!

[sat69] 18/6/2012 22:09

You need some company here Pjw?! :-)

[pjw956] 15/6/2012 22:41

133000 in closing auction.. pushing 200p again

[pjw956] 28/5/2012 23:18

time for another lift I believe..



wolfson in new samsung S3 smartphone- already over 9 million pre orders....


and more class leading new product ..

[glyn10] 02/5/2012 10:47

I think th word "encouraging" sums things up for me, record design in's. Looks positive, back to profit and growth !

[matt123d] 02/5/2012 08:26

Looking good here. Gap to close between 200p and 225p also.

[goodgrief] 02/5/2012 08:01

Forward-looking bits of the Q1 statement look good...

[jonnyf1970] 30/3/2012 10:24

Nice looking head and shoulders there.

[glyn10] 21/3/2012 15:43

I believe the awards were agreed in 2010 so no surprise they have been taken up dilution is only minimal.

[andrewbaker] 21/3/2012 14:45

Awarding directors shares is good if that encourages good performance, but dilutes existing holders, so takes the price down at least until it is felt that the potential forward value is greater: and that sometimes takes a long time; so I'm poised to take profit if the price falls below 179p.

[pjw956] 19/3/2012 14:20

due another bounce from here after retrace

[andrewbaker] 07/3/2012 17:27

The general market is pausing right now: the chips WLF make are going to be in big demand going forward as more and more mobile and cloud computing is done, and this will propel the share price north.

Disclosure: long WLF.

[johngib] 02/3/2012 10:56

flatlining now

[johngib] 02/3/2012 09:57

we have blast off

[johngib] 02/3/2012 09:30

Next stop 240p on the chart

[tr65] 28/2/2012 20:13

Quiet around here

[fabzzz] 24/2/2012 19:56

Wolfson keen to prove life after Apple
By Mark Wembridge
Since Apple pulled the plug on its contracts with Wolfson Microelectronics, the Edinburgh-based chipmaker has endeavoured to prove to the world that it has not lost its winning formula.
But fierce competition, three consecutive annual pre-tax losses, and a dwindling cash pile has meant that Wolfson – previously among the UK's most promising tech companies – is facing a make-or-break 2012.
Once the Scottish company's largest customer, the US group left the company looking on when it dropped Wolfson's chips from Apple's iPhones and chose competitors' cheaper technology for its updated designs.
Although Wolfson stressed it had moved on from Apple's rejection and broadened its customer base – supplying Samsung's smartphones, Research In Motion's BlackBerrys and the new Sony PlayStation Vita console – the group's troubles seem to run deep.
After its technology was used in early versions of Apple's iPod nano and iPhone 3G, Wolfson's chips were not included in newer, higher-selling designs.
This problem reappeared in April when Samsung, one of its largest customers, ordered fewer chips than expected after promoting a smartphone that did not contain Wolfson's products.
"Wolfson was particularly unlucky last year being in the wrong Samsung smartphone," said Alex Jarvis, an analyst at Peel Hunt. "The sure thing nowadays is that if your technology is in Apple [products], you're going to be doing well. Everything else is a bit of a gamble."
That issue was highlighted when the chipmaker reported that pre-tax losses widened from $11.2m in 2010 to $24m in 2011, on flat revenues of $157m, in spite of new partnerships with companies such as ZTE, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Acer.
By contrast, rival Arm Holdings in January reported a 45 per cent jump in fourth-quarter pre-tax profit to £69m on the back of strong sales of Apple's iPad and iPhone.
Wolfson said it was developing components that would be tougher to imitate.
"Getting in at that level ... means that we're going to increase our stickiness in that device, so it's not a straightforward case of swapping one thing for another," the company said.
To fill the hole left by Apple, Wolfson has increased its spending on research and development, where more than half of the group's 400-strong staff are employed. It spent $80m of its $157m revenues in 2011 on R&D and overheads, eating into its cash pile, which last year shrank from $97.1m to $53.4m.
"We need to lead the tech race, and in order to win that race you have to bring out innovative new products at the right time," the company said.
But not being a consumer-facing business, Wolfson's fortunes are tied with those of the companies it supplies, and it has been hurt by RIM's delay in rolling out new smartphones.
Other concerns that analysts at Citigroup warn could arise in 2012 include a deterioration in end-market demand as consumers cut spending on gadgets, the failure to achieve significant wins with key new products and competitive pressures affecting margins.
Wolfson was spun out of Edinburgh University in 1984 and floated in 2003 at 210p per share. The boom in personal mobile devices, such as smartphones and satellite navigation systems, propelled its shares above 470p in mid-2006, but they fell back to 70p in 2008 following Apple's rejection.
Shares are now trading around 180p on the back of investor confidence that it can make good on its forecasts of a return to underlying profitability in the fourth quarter of 2012.
"We're relying now on our partnerships – our customers and their products – to ramp up," said Mark Cubitt, Wolfson chief financial officer. "As they do, we expect to see growth."
However, Wolfson voiced similar hopes in 2011 after launches of new smartphones and tablet devices. But a slowdown in orders from one of its biggest customers and weaker demand for chips used in digital cameras and satellite navigation units again weighed on sales and pushed it to a pre-tax loss.
The group's technology was chosen to be used in a record 382 devices in 2011, which Wolfson said will drive revenues and its forecast return to underlying profitability this year.
But it is the lack of Apple's name on its customer list that hangs over Wolfson, and only a return to profit will prove to investors that the chipmaker is on the road to recovery.

[pjw956] 10/2/2012 22:15

well - what is driving this ?

[masurenguy] 08/2/2012 12:03

Wolfson losses widen as consumers cut spending

The former stockmarket darling, whose chips designs are used in the Amazon Kindle and Samsung smartphones, also warned of a weaker-than-expected start to 2012, although it said it was still "confident" it will meet analysts' estimates and return to profit for the full-year. The business, posted pre-tax losses of $6.9m (£4.4m) in the last three months of 2011, compared to $1m in the same period in 2010. Losses grew 15% to $24.1m on a full-year basis. Mike Hickey, chief executive, said that the company usually expects 60% of its revenues to come in the second half, but that the "seasonal step up" failed to materialise because of weak consumer demand. "No one was buying a new hi-fi. With TVs, the the retailers didn't have the end demand so they were just discounting what they already had and running their inventories down," he said.

Around a third of its $157m revenues came from multimedia devices, including smartphones and tablets. These are on track to contribute half of turnover this year, Wolfson said, thanks to strong growth in the category and a slew of new product launches in March and April. "We are looking for a step up in revenue in the second quarter," Mr Hickey said, adding multimedia devices were less vulnerable to slowdowns in spending. "People upgrade their smartphones when they get a new contract, so that's become an operating expense, whereas home hi-fis are a capital expenditure." Citi analysts said it was "well-positioned for fast volume growth". However, Wolfson, which used to count Apple among its clients, has been badly hit by the lead its iPad and iPhone have gained other rival devices. Apple's products have not only led the way in terms of market share. They have also rattled its rivals, a number of whom got cold feet about their rival products last year and put Wolfson's revenues out of kilter by delaying their product launches. The company cut its growth forecasts twice in a month last summer, and in November warned that it would not return to profit until this year.

Wolfson also wrote off $2.4m of inventory, after "improper reporting" by one of its subcontractors. Its shares fell 5.25 to 153.75p. Wolfson's results stand in stark contrast to those at ARM Holdings, another British chip business, which last week reported a 45pc leap in fourth-quarter pre-tax profits to £69m, and a 37pc rise to £230m for the full year. ARM designs chips, whereas Wolfson designs and manufactures them.

[dugganjoe] 08/2/2012 11:30

topped out for today?

[dugganjoe] 08/2/2012 11:19

MM look very short of stock