Imagination Technologies shares rise on strong results, despite Apple dispute

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Imagination Technologies (LON:IMG) shares rose after reporting a small profit on Monday, in the wake of a dispute with Apple that had a serious impact on its share price.

The semiconductor maker reported a pretax profit of £2.4 million for the year ended April 30, a marked improvement on the £29.4 million loss the previous year. Revenue rose only marginally, from £145.2 million from £121.6 million, driven by an 82 percent increase in licensing revenue.

The group confirmed that its restructuring had been completed as planned, with net debt at year-end standing at £28.4 million.

Regarding its dispute with Apple, Imagination’s Chairman Peter Hill said it was “highly regrettable” that the progress made by the company had been to “severely impacted by the stance taken by Apple”.

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Earlier this year, Imagination shares plunged after Apple said it would cease using the company’s technology in its iPhones. Apple said the royalties would cease in 2018 or early 2019, sparking difficulties between the two companies.

On Tuesday Imagination confirmed that “no progress had been made” in the dispute and that “options were being reviewed”.

 

Andrew Heath, Chief Executive, commented on the results:

“Last year was exceptionally challenging but operationally we delivered a strong set of results. Our restructuring programme was implemented as planned and our focus on our core IP businesses resulted in notable progress across all three of our businesses.

“However, Apple’s unsubstantiated assertions and the resultant dispute have forced us to change our course, despite the clear progress we have been making.”

Shares in Imagination rose on Tuesday, currently trading up 7.67 percent at 0908GMT.