Imagination Technologies tumbles as it forecasts first-half loss

(ShareCast News) - Shares in Imagination Technologies fell sharply after the company said first-half revenue is likely to be lower than it had previously forecast, leading to a loss.The company, which supplies graphics technology to Apple, among others, said the semiconductor sector had a weak June quarter, but the industry expectation is for this to improve in the second half of the year, particularly the fourth quarter.It said part of this was driven by the sharp slowdown in emerging economies growth, particularly China."The combination of general market softness in H1 and the short-term timing impact of the replacement chip ramp-up mentioned in the business update, lead us to expect lower H1 revenues than we had previously forecast, which is likely to lead to a loss for H1," it said.The company said it expects a stronger second half than previously forecast based on the strength of the licensing pipeline and customers' product launches.However, it said that at this early stage in the year, it can't be certain it will recover all the shortfall from the first half.Thanks to strong licensing activities in the last couple of years and the growing design wins in various markets, Imagination said it expects the medium-term volume to gain significant momentum despite these short-term industry and specific factors.Chief executive Hossein Yassaie said: "There are some indications of general softness across the semiconductor industry for the short-term. However, given the relevance of our technologies to the key markets and design-wins we have already secured and expect to secure, we remain confident of a growing momentum in our business in the medium-term."At 0820 BST, Imagination shares were down 9.4% at 235.12p.