Wolfson cuts sales forecast again

Edinburgh-based chipmaker Wolfson Microelectronics slashed its sales forecast again yesterday in the face of a tough market for electronics goods that lack an Apple logo. The downgrade, its second in a month, sent shares in the maker of audio processing chips down 15 per cent to a 15-month low 148 pence. "The company is increasingly cautious about the challenging near-term consumer electronics environment," Chief Executive Mike Hickey said in a call with reporters. "Since the trading update on June 27 there has been a sharp reduction across a wide base of customers in their near-term forecasts." Article continues below The Edinburgh-based company said yesterday its full-year revenue would grow by less than 10 per cent, missing analyst expectations which had already been downgraded to about 13 per cent, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S consensus. Wolfson, which supplies Blackberry-maker Research in Motion, Samsung and LG, said it was being hit by slower-than-expected launches of products such as tablet computers, derailing its long-term recovery plan after being ousted from Apple products in recent years. Its chips have been designed into many of the smartphones and tablet PCs launched to challenge Apple, but Hickey said production numbers were low due to muted demand from consumers.