By Rory Gallivan
LONDON--Wolfson Microelectronics PLC (WLF.LN), a supplier of
audio technology for smartphones, Wednesday said fourth-quarter
revenue will be held back by cutbacks at an unnamed major
customer.
Wolfson, which designs chips for functions such as noise
cancellation and increasing battery life, expects fourth-quarter
revenue of between $40 million and $50 million, which broker Citi
says is below previous average consensus estimates of $58.1
million.
Wolfson said it has been hurt by "the cancellation of product
programmes at a major customer following a strategic review of its
business," adding that other customers have delayed "key
programmes" from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first half of
2014.
Brokers Citi and Numis said they believe that the customer that
cancelled product programs is the Canadian handset manufacturer
BlackBerry Ltd. (BBRY).
Wolfson was unavailable for comment.
Blackberry, which has been hit by people using devices such as
Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone at work rather than their Blackberries,
last month reported a sharp fall in quarterly revenue amid poor
sales for its Z10 smartphone. It plans to cut jobs and has agreed
to be taken over by a consortium led by its biggest
shareholder.
Wolfson said it expects the shortfall in its fourth-quarter
revenue to be mitigated by other customers continuing with product
releases in 2014.
In a short trading statement, it also said revenue for the third
quarter ended Sept. 29 is estimated at around $44 million, in line
with its previous prediction of $40 million to $50 million. The
largest customer accounted for 35% of third quarter revenue,
Wolfson said.
Citi said it believes Wolfson's biggest customer is the South
Korean device manufacturer Samsung.
-Shares at 0929 GMT, down 25 pence, or 14%, at 150 pence valuing
the company at GBP203.7 million.
Write to Rory Gallivan at rory.gallivan@wsj.com; Twitter:
@RoryGallivan
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