Mobile chip giant Qualcomm has raised its profit and sales guidance for its current quarter, citing a welcome boost in global demand for mobile broadband chipsets. For its fiscal third-quarter, which ends on 28 June, the San Diego-based company estimates revenues of between US$2.67 billion and US$2.77 billion, up from a prior guidance range of US$2.40 billion to US$2.60 billion. Operating income is estimated to be in the range US$830 million to US$880 million, considerably higher than the earlier guidance range of US$550 million to US$650 million. “Our increased guidance reflects stronger than expected demand for more data-capable chipsets and increased licensing revenues driven in part by advanced 3G network upgrades,” said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm. However, the firm said that ongoing market volatility meant it would not provide earnings per share guidance for the quarter.

In terms of shipments, Qualcomm said that sales of its CDMA-based Mobile Station Modem (MSM) for the quarter were estimated to be 94 to 95 million units, compared to a prior guidance range of 87 to 92 million units. CDMA-based device shipments are estimated to be 109 to 111 million CDMA units (CDMA2000 and WCDMA), compared to prior guidance in the range of 107 to 112 million. The CDMA unit average selling price is now estimated at US$191, down from an earlier estimate of US$196.