The Cambridge-based firm posted pretax profit of 68.1 million pounds ($109.2 million) on revenue 20 percent higher at 144.6 million pounds, resulting in earnings per share of 3.71 pence. The numbers were all slightly ahead of average market expectations.

ARM, which reports royalty revenues a quarter in arrears, said indications from its chip making customers pointed to a moderate sequential increase in royalty revenue in the final quarter.

It said its order backlog also indicated another strong quarter for licensing, and it expected dollar revenues for the quarter to be in line with market expectations.

The company said at its second-quarter results in July that analysts expected full-year revenue of $875 million, after slightly nudging down their forecasts from earlier in the year to reflect the weaker economic climate.

They were expecting pretax profit of 67.4 million pounds on revenue of 140 million pounds, resulting in earnings per share of 3.62 pence for the third quarter, according to a company-supplied consensus of 26 brokers.

($1 = 0.6237 British pounds)

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)

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