Qualcomm Inc. has squared away another set of licensing agreements in China, sealing 3G and 4G patent deals with Beijing Tianyu Communication Equipment Co. and appliance-maker Haier Group.
The deals are a boost for Qualcomm in China, who have recently struggled to collect licensing fees in the country causing their stock to stumble in 2015. Qualcomm shares are currently sitting at $50.88 USD. Earlier this month they dipped to $46.83, their lowest point since August 2011.
The latest deals grant the two Chinese companies royalty-bearing patent licenses to make and sell CDMA2000, 3GWCDMA and 4G LTE units to the Chinese market. No financial details were disclosed.
Earlier this month Qualcomm inked a long-awaited deal with Xiaomi, one of the country’s biggest smartphone makers, easing investor pressure with a 5 percent increase in stock prices.
The company, which makes over half their revenue from licensing fees, previously signed deals with China’s Huawei Technologies Co. and ZTE Corp. among approximately 60 others, though they are yet to reach an agreement with Lenovo Group Ltd. Slowing smartphone sales have contributed to the squeeze, causing some companies to hold out on payments or roll them over to 2016.
The San Diego-based company also ran into trouble with the Chinese antitrust authorities, who forced Qualcomm to pay a $975 million USD fine in February following a year long investigation regarding a violation of anti-monopoly laws. The settlement also included a rectification plan which affects the way the company conducts business in China. Qualcomm’s latest deals have been settled under this plan.
Recently Qualcomm has been under pressure to consider splitting their chipmaker business from the licensing operations, though earlier this month they reiterated a commitment to keeping the different units together. Last year the company’s chip business generated $3.8 billion USD, its royalty business $6.6 billion USD.