British semiconductor designer ARM Holdings says it's seeing the first signs of a recovery in the semiconductor industry.
The company has been buoyed by an upbeat outlook from chip-making clients, despite a fall-off in royalty payments.
ARM says royalty revenues slipped 6 per cent to £6.4 million sterling in the first quarter.
Chief executive Mr Warren East says the swell of confidence from chip-makers bodes well for future royalties.
He says: "Chip pricing is one part of the business that we have no control over whatsoever. What we are seeing is that some chip-making companies and sounding slightly more positive.
"They are seeing the first green shoots of recovery and it seems as though things have started to bottom out.
"But because we are one stage removed from selling semiconductors to customers, we can't give guidance on this."
ARM won 13 new semiconductor licensing partners in the first quarter of 2002, bringing its total to 90.
The flagship Version 6 product, the Jaguar, is scheduled to be launched in the third quarter of 2002.
It is designed for the new generation of multimedia mobile phones and handheld computers.
PA