Q4 2015 Financial Summary
Group revenues in US$ up 14% year-on-year (£ revenues up 19% year-on-year)
Processor royalty revenues1 in US$ up 24% year-on-year (relevant industry revenues down 3% year-on-year2)
Order backlog up around 10% sequentially
Normalised PBT and EPS up 17% and 14% year-on-year respectively
Directors recommend final dividend increase of 25% to 5.63p
Progress on key growth drivers in Q4 2015
Growth in adoption of ARM® processor technology
o 51 processor licences signed by a broad range of companies, including six market-leading semiconductor vendors and four OEMs
o Target applications included mobile computing, automotive, security systems and the Internet of Things
Strong demand for advanced ARM technology
o Eleven licences signed for our next-generation high-performance and high-efficiency application processors
o One architecture licence for the recently announced ARMv8-M, which brings advanced security features to low-cost chips
o Eight Mali™ multimedia processor licences signed, including licences for advanced display and video processors
o First physical IP licence signed for 7nm technology
Growth in shipments of chips based on ARM processor technology
o 4.0 billion ARM-based chips shipped, up 16% year-on-year
o Strong growth in shipments of microcontrollers and chips for mobile devices
ARM enters 2016 with a robust opportunity pipeline for licensing helped by the introduction of new ARM technologies and our expanding market opportunities. Chips based on ARMv8-A technology are expected to continue to gain share in mobile and enterprise markets, and the higher royalty rate earned on these products helps to underpin growth in royalty revenues.
Increased economic uncertainty may influence consumer and enterprise spending, potentially impacting semiconductor revenues and industry confidence. Based on current conditions in the semiconductor market, we expect Group dollar revenues for the full year to be broadly in line with market expectations.
Simon Segars, Chief Executive Officer, said:
"2015 was a strong year for the shipment of chips containing advanced ARM technology, and momentum continued through the fourth quarter. During the year ARMv8-A surpassed 50% share of smartphone shipments, Mali became the industry's highest-shipping GPU architecture, and our Partners increased their shipments into enterprise infrastructure and embedded markets.
Demand for our technology is increasing, and during the quarter we signed multiple licences for the next generation of high-performance and secure ARM processors. Our increased investments in both 2015 and 2016 will help us meet demand by extending the capabilities of our technology and the ecosystem, and will support long-term growth and returns for shareholders."
