Laird's third-quarter revenue rises as phone makers snap up components

(Reuters) - Laird Plc, a British electronic components maker, said third-quarter revenue rose 6.4 percent, driven by increased business from customers launching new products, selling more smartphones and investing in 4G LTE networks. The company's shares rose as much as 4.5 percent to rank among the top percentage gainers on the FTSE 250 index on Wednesday morning. Laird, whose customers include Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, said trading was in line and its expectations for the full year remained unchanged. Revenue in the quarter rose to 150 million pounds from 141 million pounds a year earlier. The revenue boost was mainly due to growth at its performance materials division, which makes products to ward off electromagnetic interference, manage heat dissipation and maintain signal quality in mobile phones and other electronics. The division gained from Apple's iPhone 6 launch, share gains at Samsung and continued investment in LTE in China, Liberum analysts wrote in a note to clients. Revenue from the business rose 8 percent to 101 million pounds, while Laird's wireless systems division, which makes antennas and remote control systems, saw a 3 percent rise in revenue. Laird, which also makes smart chips for GPS and radio systems in cars, said the rise in wireless revenue was in part due to increased demand for its telematics products from the automotive market, particularly in North America. The smaller signal-integrity business declined from a year earlier when the Xbox gaming console sales peaked, Liberum analysts said. Laird's shares were up 4 percent at 306.6 pence 0755 GMT on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)