Opinion may be divided on the latest incarnations of Apple’s iPhone, but investors were today clear on one thing — the benefits for the British microchip industry.
Apple last night launched two new iPhones at the company’s headquarters in San Francisco: the high-powered 5S and a cheaper plastic version of the handset, the 5C.
On the back of the launch, British-based ARM Holdings and Imagination Technologies both saw shares jump.
ARM licenses its microchip designs to manufacturers and analysts reckon the 64-bit A7 microprocessor used in the iPhone 5S will reap a higher royalty rate for the Cambridge-based company – 2-4% compared with the current 1.5-2%. Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimate ARM could make $1 per iPhone 5S.
Mobile graphics microchip-maker Imagination is also expected to benefit, as the iPhone 5 is thought to include Imagination’s latest chip. As with ARM, Imagination’s technologies carry a higher royalty rate. Apple is the Hertfordshire-based company’s largest customer.
ARM Holdings shot to the top of the FTSE 100, jumping 45.5p to 986.5p, while Imagination Technologies was up 6.2p at 308.1p.
