Britain-based mobile phone software firm Symbian said shipments of handsets running its software rose 58 percent in the second quarter and that the company was profitable and on a stable footing.

Symbian, whose software gives mobile phones the ability to take photos, browse the Internet and play music digitally, said its software had been used in 12.3 million phones, up from 7.8 million in the second quarter of 2005.

Growth slowed from the first quarter, when shipments increased 73 percent. The average royalty rate per phone was higher, however, and revenues from phone sales rose 74 percent to 37.9 million pounds ($71.7 million).

Symbian in May had predicted that growth in shipments would continue around 75 percent for the next two years. The company expects a boost in shipments from the current quarter as a result of a new licensing model from July 1, which provides lower royalty rates. Total revenues, including consulting services and partnering income rose to 41.2 million pounds from 26.8 million in the second quarter of 2005.

Symbian’s software is now used in so many phones from
Nokia , Sony Ericsson and others that it has become profitable after eight years of losses, the company said. It does not publish earnings.

“You’re right to assume we’re in the black. Our cost base is largely fixed, so we’re fixated on growing the volumes. We’re now in a position where we can forecast a stable position,” Chief Executive Nigel Clifford said in a telephone interview.

Nokia, Ericsson and Sony Ericsson are the main shareholders of the closely held company with 76.6 percent between the three of them. Other shareholders are Panasonic, Samsung and Siemens.

Symbian was set up in 1998 to provide a counterweight to Microsoft, which mobile phone makers feared would try to dominate the handset market as it controls the operating software on personal computers with its Windows software.

Symbian, whose market share of the smartphone market is estimated between 65 and 70 percent by analysts, said 86 different Symbian-powered phones were on the market by the end of the second quarter from 10 different vendors, up from 66 models a year earlier.

The cheap open-source software from
Linux is also popular by handset makers.

Nokia generated around 70 percent of Symbian sales, while around 28 percent of sales were generated in Japan alone, Clifford said.

By: Lucas van Grinsven, European Technology Correspondent

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