Bluetooth specialist CSR saw profits jump 137 per cent in the first-quarter, ahead of market expectations, boosted by strong demand for the wireless technology.
CSR, which said it expects a ‘strong’ performance in 2006, said pretax profits for the three months to the end of March had more than doubled to $25.8 million (£14.1 million), compared with $10.9 million in the same period a year ago.
Revenues for the quarter jumped to $134.9 million (£73.6 million) from $66.4 million in 2005. The technology is becoming a popular marketing tool, with outdoor advertising group Maiden having launched an advertising campaign for the Coldplay album X&Y incorporating Bluetooth into its posters.
CSR says it currently boasts a 60 per cent share of design wins in the Bluetooth market – the technology which allows mobile phones to connect to other handsets and electrical devices over a short range.
”This buoyant marketplace and our increasing visibility of our customers development programmes make us confident of delivering a strong financial performance for 2006,” said CSR chief executive John Scarisbrick.
A quarter of handsets currently incorporate Bluetooth technology – a figure which is expected to rise to 40 per cent this year.
One problem marketers currently face is that Bluetooth promotions are effectively forbidden by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (2003), which say that marketers can only use electronic communications, including Bluetooth, for marketing if they have received prior consent from the consumer.
However, standard mobile phones avoid this snag as consenting consumers can be identified by phone numbers.
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