Wolfson feels the squeeze on revenues

Edinburgh-based Wolfson Microelectronics, which supplies BlackBerry maker RIM and sat-nav group TomTom, said sales in the three months to June were towards the lower end of previous guidance because of product delays faced by some customers and pressure on consumer sales.

Broker Numis suggested hold-ups to the new range of BlackBerry products and weakness in consumer electronics products such as TVs affected the group, which now expects sales of 37 million US dollars (£23m) in the second quarter of 2011, about 15 per cent worse than previously forecast.

Revenues in the previous three months rose by 44 per cent to 41 million dollars (£27m) driven by more than doubled year-on-year growth in mobile phones, particularly smartphones, gaming, eBooks and PC/tablets.

Wolfson added it now expects sales growth for the full year of between 10-20 per cent, compared to previous consensus forecasts of 30 per cent, though it says the precise outcome will depend on the timing of product launches by its customers.

Shares slumped more than 20 per cent on the update, even though Wolfson added take-up of its products was accelerating and it had traction with customers to support strong growth from 2012.

Nick James at Numis added: “Unfortunately, Wolfson is an example of what happens to a semiconductor business which lacks scale when its key categories come under pressure.”