Xircom Inc has announced a breakthrough into profitability after revenues rose by almost 50% to $276m. The 10-year-old Thousand Oaks, California company’s mobile communications products have earned it an OEM business that now accounts for 25% of revenues and includes eight out of the ten biggest notebook producers, including IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Acer. It was able to grow revenues in Asia by 30% despite the economic crisis. Riding on the back of the growth in sales of portable devices, Xircom is looking for sequential growth of 5% to 8% each quarter over the next year, reflecting analysts’ estimates that revenues next year will be in the $380m-$400m range. This year the company pulled itself out of the red and produced net income of $18.3m. Once the producer of innovative products such as the pocket Ethernet adapter, Xircom now finds itself in the forefront of products to connect portable devices with the internet. It has a close relationship with Intel Corp, which holds a 12.5% shareholding and an option to buy a further 7.5%. Intel is already sitting on a handy profit as the shares improved 11.5% to a 12-month high of $27.75.
