Parthus Technologies is commonly labelled a "bright star" among Irish tech firms but you could forgive its shareholders for losing faith in its promise of a wireless world of devices powered by its intellectual property.

Most are nursing heavy losses since the dotcom bubble burst, sending Parthus's shares down from almost £4.00 sterling to 23.5 pence.

Ongoing uncertainty within the semiconductor industry, which accounts for most of Parthus's customers, has hit the stock hard and the announcement of a complicated merger with Ceva, a division of US firm DSP Group, did little to settle investor's nerves.

But this week suggests there may be better times ahead. Parthus reported its first pro-forma profit one quarter ahead of expectations.

Boosted by strong royalty and licensing revenues the company made underlying earnings of $66,000 (€65,400). This is hardly a fortune, and the figure excludes expenses such as the cost of its merger, but it is a far cry from the ballooning losses posted by Iona and Smartforce.

The 9 per cent increase in royalties suggests Parthus should generate greater income in the future from deals struck 18 months ago.

The receipt of tax clearance from the US authorities this week for the Ceva merger was a bonus. Completion of the complicated deal by September should enable Parthus to pursue its strategy of embedding its technology in a range of devices from cellphones to Xboxes.