Qualcomm’s profit drops sharply due to lawsuits with Apple

Qualcomm’s profit for the quarter was 40 percent lower than in the same quarter last year. This is due to the lawsuits with Apple in which the chip designer is involved. Turnover was 11 percent lower.

Qualcomm met its own expectations with a turnover of 5.4 billion dollars and a profit of 866 million dollars, converted to 753 million euros. In April, the company had already lowered expectations due to ongoing lawsuits. In the past quarter, the chip designer delivered 187 million of its socs. Just under a year ago, when there were 201 million, but 4 percent more than in the previous quarter. For the current quarter, which runs through September, Qualcomm forecasts another lower profit, but the chip designer believes it can achieve revenue growth.

In the presentation of the quarterly figures, CEO Steve Mollenkopf states that Qualcomm has the best papers in the conflict with Apple. On Wednesday, the chip designer further expanded his charges against Apple in courts in Germany. In the legal battle, Apple accuses the chip designer of abusing its dominant position and charging too much money for the use of patents. The indictment came after it became known that the US Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint against Qualcomm, alleging the company misused its patents on network chips and engaged in unfair business practices.

Apple refuses to pay license fees during the lawsuits. Qualcomm itself has filed several patent cases against the iPhone maker and is demanding an import ban on iPhones in the US and Germany. Earlier this year, Blackberry won a fee lawsuit against Qualcomm. As a result, the chip designer had to return $940 million in overpaid license fees to Blackberry.

Qualcomm’s profits halved at the beginning of this year. Then the company withdrew $868 million from its profits to pay a fine imposed by the South Korean competition authority. Two investigations into Qualcomm’s business practices are also underway in Europe. In a preliminary conclusion, the European Commission already stated at the end of 2015 that Qualcomm had illegally paid manufacturers for exclusive purchase of its chipsets.