Edinburgh’s Wolfson to supply Samsung Galaxy parts

Shares in the Edinburgh technology company rose after the announcement of the multi-year agreement, which makes Wolfson a “primary audio partner” to Samsung.

The deal has put the company in a strong position to win a major share of the audio component work on Samsung’s future mobile products.

Wolfson chief executive Mike Hickey described the agreement, which is thought to be for at least three years, as a “significant milestone” for the firm.

“Having worked closely with Samsung over recent years on their Galaxy range of tablets and smartphones, this agreement is a testament to our strong intellectual property portfolio and our growing partnership.

“We very much look forward to working closely together to continue to deliver exceptional audio in Samsung’s smartphones and tablets.”

Although Samsung is already a significant customer for Wolfson, the agreement is likely to see it get involved at an earlier stage of product development in its mobile division.

Samsung’s mobile devices business now generates 70 per cent of its total revenue.

Earlier this month, the Korean group said it expected profits for the first three months of 2013 to have risen by 53 per cent thanks to soaring smartphone sales.

The Galaxy S and Note series have made Samsung the number two player in the global high-end smartphone market after Apple. The latest Galaxy S4 smartphone will hit the shops later this month

In February, Wolfson said popularity of smartphones and tablet computers helped it grow revenues by 52 per cent in the final three months of 2012, with its audio chips used in many of the top-selling devices.

Wolfson expects similar year-on-year sales growth in the first quarter of 2013. Shares in Wolfson closed up 9p, or 5.3 per cent, at 179p.