Mobile silicon giant Qualcomm reported a slight dip in year-on-year revenue and net income for its most recent fiscal quarter and issued a revenue target for the current quarter that was below Wall Street expectations. The San Diego-based company reported revenues of US$2.75 billion for its fiscal third-quarter ended 28 June, compared to US$2.76 billion in the prior year and US$2.46 billion in the prior quarter. Net income was US$737 million compared to US$748 million in the prior year and a net loss of $289 million in the prior quarter. The uplift from the previous quarter reflected a US$748 million litigation charge related to its settlement with Broadcom billed to that quarter. Qualcomm forecast revenue for its current quarter of between US$2.55 billion and US$2.75 billion, which was at the low end of analysts’ average estimate of US$2.72 billion, according to Reuters.

Commenting on the forecast, Charter Equity Research analyst Ed Snyder told Reuters that “a good portion of the chips they shipped last quarter went to restocking depleted inventory. That won’t happen again this quarter because the shelves are stocked now and consumer demand hasn’t increased.” Other analysts said that Qualcomm was facing weaker demand in China this quarter. “We believe the CDMA inventory channel has largely stabilised, yet remains near historically low levels consistent with our prior forecast,” admitted Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, in a statement. The firm added that it expects fiscal-year 2009 revenue of between US$10.25 billion and US$10.45 billion, up from its previous forecast of US$9.85 billion to US$10.25 billion. According to Reuters estimates, the midpoint of the new forecast (US$10.35 billion) fell short of the US$10.43 billion expected by analysts. In other news, the Wall Street Journal reports today that South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, the country’s antitrust watchdog, has fined Qualcomm KWR260 billion (US$208 million) for “unfair” business practices associated with its chipset sales. Qualcomm has said it will appeal the ruling.