License Agreements 'Transformational' for Tessera

Tessera Technologies Inc. notched a significant turnaround in profits at the end of the first quarter of 2014, after reaching licensing agreements with several other companies and divesting itself of subsidiaries.

The miniaturization company reported profits of $33.4 million, following a net loss of $45.2 million for the last quarter of 2013. The first quarter of 2013 returned a net loss of $11.3 million.

Revenue was $88.3 million in the first quarter of 2014, compared to $28.6 million in the first quarter of 2013, an increase of nearly 209 percent. The company expects total revenue for the second quarter to be between $31 million and $33 million.

“This is a transformational time for the company, and we are very pleased with the progress made during the quarter,” said CEO Tom Lacey.

Lacey highlighted new technology license agreements with Samsung Electronics Co. and settlements with PTI, ASE, Renesas and Qualcomm. Litigation expenses in the first quarter of 2014 decreased by $7 million, or 50 percent, from the first quarter of 2013. They are expected to rise in the next quarter, however.

In the previous 12 months, the company closed its camera module assembly facility in Zhuhai, China, sold a significant portion of its Micro-Optics business in Charlotte, N.C., and stopped manufacturing mems|cam, the last vestige of its DigitalOptics business.

During the first quarter of 2014, the company repurchased roughly 700,000 shares, for an aggregate amount of $14.2 million.