Broadcom profit up fourfold

Broadcom Corp. said Tuesday that profit jumped almost fourfold on higher sales of wireless chips.

Second-quarter net income climbed to $134.8 million, or 25 cents a share, from $34.3 million, or 6 cents, a year earlier, the Irvine-based maker of chips for Nintendo Co.’s Wii video game console and Motorola Inc.’s television set-top boxes said. Sales gained 34% to $1.2 billion.

Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted profit of 15 cents a share and revenue of $1.1 billion.

Broadcom is selling more Bluetooth wireless chips that connect mobile phones to headsets and laptop computers, said Ruben Roy, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore. Orders for semiconductors used in Motorola’s television set-top boxes may also be countering slowing consumer demand for electronics, he said.

“They had a really strong second quarter in Bluetooth and that’s the biggest single segment for Broadcom,” Roy said.

While Broadcom is gaining in Bluetooth chips, the company is struggling to crack the market for more expensive baseband chips, Roy said. Those semiconductors turn radio signals received by mobile phones into voice and data.

McGregor said in April that Broadcom’s effort to take on Qualcomm Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. in the baseband chip market may take longer than previously expected.

Broadcom’s other products include chips for routers that connect computers to one another and link them to the Internet. The company also makes parts used in flat-panel TVs manufactured by LG Electronics Inc. and Sharp Corp.

Shares of Broadcom rose 20 cents to $27.64 before the earnings news. The shares have gained 5.7% this year.