ARM Bulks Up Staff and Compensation After SoftBank Acquisition

(Bloomberg) -- Arm Holdings Plc posted a quarterly loss due to an increase in headcount and compensation, and a one-time acquisition charge, as it continues its transformation under the ownership of SoftBank Group Corp.

The U.K. company, whose technology is the most widely used in the chip industry, posted a loss of 6.9 billion yen ($62 million) for the three months to June 30, according to SoftBank's results Monday.

Formerly the U.K.'s largest tech company before its $32 billion acquisition last year, ARM now files results as a segment of SoftBank. Net sales for the past quarter reached $428 million, up from $409 million the previous quarter. The results included a $120.4 million in expenses recorded following the acquisition. Adjusted earnings reached $71.8 million.

ARM's net headcount has increased by 330, up 6.8 percent quarter-on-quarter, while the company has also changed how it pays its staff, starting a new “performance-linked incentive program.”

These new hires are to encourage ARM to speed up its development of new technologies, with a focus on artificial intelligence, computer vision, and augmented reality, according to SoftBank's results statement.  

ARM's customers use its designs or create their own chips using a more basic level of the company's technology. Over the past quarter ARM signed 41 new processor licenses, up from 23 the year previously.

ARM announced in May a new design that targets the personal computer and server markets dominated by Intel Corp.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Turner in London at gturner35@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Robert Fenner at rfenner@bloomberg.net, Giles Turner