* Shares fall to six-year lows after profit warning
* Analyst says company delivered "terrible" numbers
* Swings to first-half loss in operating profit (Adds CEO comments, analyst reaction, shares)
By Paul Sandle
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Imagination Tech, theBritish company whose graphics power Apple's iPhone, warned onprofit on Tuesday, saying red-hot demand for smartphones hadcooled.
Shares in the group, which has both Apple and Intel on its shareholder register, fell to a six-year lowafter it reported weak first-half numbers and said it would missprofit forecasts for the year.
Chief Executive Hossein Yassaie called the performance"disappointing", saying it reflected a slowdown in the overallsemiconductor industry and softness in the mobile market.
"Partly it is China, but also generally phones are now goodenough that people do not upgrade them as quickly as they usedto," he said in an interview.
He said industry forecasts for the semiconductor market hadbeen lowered throughout the year, and analysts now expect 2015to be flat to slightly lower.
The company swung to an operating loss of 7.3 million pounds ($11.06 million) for the six months to end-October, from aprofit of 5.0 million pounds a year ago on revenue of 71.1million pounds, a drop of 14 percent, with falls in bothlicensing and royalties.
"The board currently expects adjusted operating profit forthe financial year to 30 April 2016 to be below previousexpectations," it said.
Brokers on average were expecting operating profit of 14.1million pounds, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Yassaie said that the medium-term outlook was brighter,citing a new agreement with an unnamed tier-one player insmartphones and increased penetration in automotive and TVmarkets.
Shares in the group, which had already fallen about 35percent in the last three months, were down 8 percent at 150.25pence by 1351 GMT.
Analyst Roger Phillips at Investec said the results were"frankly terrible".
"Imagination is no stranger to reporting disappointingnumbers, having done so for several years," he said.
But he said at 2.7 times enterprise value over sales, versusa long-term trend of five times, there was value in the stock.
"We remain buyers, given that the steps needed to run thisIP-rich business in a financially disciplined way appear obvious- and a catalyst for change is evident," he said. ($1 = 0.6599 pounds)
