Nokia fight looms for Qualcomm

Qualcomm continues to deliver reliably strong revenue numbers, as the company said in its fiscal second-quarter earnings report that quarterly revenue was up 34%. However, the company also acknowledged in an SEC filing that Nokia's license to sell products based on Qualcomm's CDMA patents will end in one year and has not been renewed yet.

While Nokia pays Qualcomm royalty fees on CDMA licenses, Qualcomm also has a deal under which it pays Nokia royalties for certain integrated circuit patents. Qualcomm said in its filing that the current agreements end April 9, 2007, and added that renewal discussions were underway. However, the filing also stated, "While the parties have been in discussions to conclude an extension or a new license agreement beyond that time period, there is no certainty as to when we will be able to conclude an agreement or the terms of any such agreement. There is also a possibility that the parties will not be able to conclude a new or extended agreement by April, 2007."

The relationship between the two companies also seems especially tenuous in light of the language in the filing coming about six months after Nokia and other vendors joined to file a complaint with the European Union that accused Qualcomm of breaching its licensing agreements and charging unfair royalty fees.

Meanwhile, Qualcomm's quarterly revenue, which largely is derived from such licensing agreements, was reported at just over $1.8 billion, up from $1.37 billion for the same quarter in 2005. The company's net income was $593 million, an increase from about $532 million over last year's second quarter. That translates to about 34 cents earnings-per-share, versus 31 cents EPS last year.