Of the 387 people who work for Parthus Technologies plc, more than 300 are engineers. This, company executives say, is one of the main reasons Parthus is able to offer such a diverse range of products and technologies, and eventually will position the company to be the leading provider of technologies for microprocessor companies and electronics manufacturers.
“We have a huge international reservoir of experience,” said Richard Martin, vice president of corporate communication for Parthus.
Martin said Parthus is able to offer what few companies can-complete, ready-to-use products for almost everything wireless. Parthus’ line of technology offerings seems to cover the gamut of the wireless market: a handheld computing platform, 2.5- and third-generation technology, Bluetooth applications and technology, mobile multimedia technology and global positioning system capabilities.
Parthus offers all this, Martin said, in a simple package.
“We’re able to go into these companies and say, `Here’s Bluetooth, pretty much out of the box,’ ” he said.
While a number of companies claim to offer similar products and services-the phrase “end-to-end solution” has become a wireless industry cliche-Parthus has the clientele list to back up its position.
ARM, Agilent Technologies Inc., Microsoft Corp., Motorola Inc., Psion plc, STMicroelectronics Inc. and Texas Instruments Inc. are among some of the company’s top-tier clients. Parthus boasts its products have attracted five of the top 10 wireless semiconductor manufacturers. 3Com Corp., with revenues in the billions, is Parthus’ most recent large customer, signing agreements to purchase the company’s Bluetooth, GPS and Internet audio technology.
And while many of Parthus’ clients are experiencing problems likely due to a slowing economy, Martin said Parthus’ corporate strategy will help keep the company ahead of problems in the wireless market. Parthus designs its own technology and then licenses it to other companies-it signed 32 licensing deals last year, 26 of which included a royalty component-a model which Parthus says will help it stay afloat in an economic slowdown because other companies will come to Parthus for technology instead of designing it on their own.
“Companies are looking at reducing their internal revenue in the downturn,” Martin said. This is where Parthus steps in, he said.
Martin stopped short of saying the company was looking forward to a flagging economy or that it was excited to benefit from other companies’ woes, but he did say Parthus was still bullish about revenues for this year and the next, even in light of signs of a tight market for telecommunications.
“It’s a sweet business model,” he said.
That model rests on Parthus’ ability to offer companies what they want for much less than what it would cost to develop in-house. Martin describes it as the “make-or-buy” decision. Also, all of Parthus’ technology works in tandem, so if a company purchases one product it is guaranteed that it will work with whatever else it buys from Parthus.
“We never develop a platform in isolation,” Martin said. “We never launch a platform without a client. We don’t try to second-guess the market.”
The range of technologies Parthus is able to offer allows it to be a kind of consulting firm, working with customers to help them realize the full benefit of wireless technology and the wireless marketplace.
“We can basically map out your wireless strategy for you,” Martin said. “We think that that’s the really compelling offering that Parthus brings to the marketplace.”
The upfront and close relationship Parthus develops with its customers keeps them coming back, Martin said.
“Over 67 percent of our revenue was from repeat customers” last year, he said.
InfoStream platform
Those customers have a variety of technologies to choose from, including the company’s newest platform, InfoStream. InfoStream, developed in conjunction with Psion, is Parthus’ mobile computing platform for personal digital assistants and smart phones. It is built for the Symbian platform, but also hedges Parthus’ bets and works with the PocketPC, Palm and Linux operating systems. InfoStream supports GPRS broadband wireless communications, Bluetooth and GPS technologies, the company said. After assisting with the design, Psion licensed the platform to power the next generation of its smart phones.
Parthus’ other platforms include GPS technology compliant with the Federal Communications Commission’s E911 mandate; an advanced Internet audio offering; a Bluetooth product; and a GPRS platform that Parthus said will be able to support multimedia streaming content.
“What keeps us two steps ahead … is that we have these five platforms,” Martin said. “We don’t manufacture chips, we license the technology.”
4Q results are positive
Parthus’ results for the fourth quarter, ended Dec. 31, show its business strategy seems to be doing well. Its revenues for the period were $9.3 million, a 77-percent increase compared with the same period last year. The company said $5.1 million of that total came from license and royalty agreements. For the year, Parthus saw revenues of $31.9 million, a 68-percent increase. Since the company’s initial public offering last year, its stock has swung up and down between $50 and $20.
Parthus executives said in the future the company plans to flesh out its business with more acquisitions, which would add to this year’s acquisitions of GSM and GPRS technology from Frontier Design Inc. and the GPS division of Symmetricom.
