Chinese license lifts Zi shares in Toronto
By Susan Taylor
OTTAWA, (Reuters) - Meteoric software developer Zi Corp. touched a new high Tuesday after announcing that its latest licensing deal gives it royalty agreements with China's five largest GSM mobile phone firms.
Shares in Calgary-based Zi peaked at C$32 (US$21.62) on the Toronto Stock Exchange Tuesday morning before profit taking pulled the issue back to C$28.80, a gain of 80 Canadian cents.
Since it began announcing a string of royalty deals in July, Zi has steadily gained from a low point of C$1.23 to a 52-week peak of C$28.30.
On Nasdaq, the issue peaked at 22-1/8 Tuesday before pulling back to 19- 3/8, a gain of 3/8.
Zi, whose software allows Chinese characters and other languages to be entered on traditional keyboards or keypads, said Tuesday it had signed a licensing deal with China's TCL Holdings Co. Ltd. TCL will include Zi software on its phoneswhich use the GSM standard or Global System for Mobile Communications.
The deal is significant because it gives Zi a hammerlock on the massive Chinese market for GSM phones, CEO Michael Lobsinger told Reuters. While royalty deals differ, on average Zi collects 60-75 cents per phone, he added.
Estimates suggest that between 18 and 20 million mobile phones will be sold in China next year, he added.
''They're only putting on one system -- ours,'' said Lobsinger. ''We will be on the majority of cell phones.
Zi's next market push is aimed at set-top boxes, which combine televisions with computers. There are approximately 450 million TV sets in China, Lobsinger said.
The company, which recorded a 112 percent increase in its third-quarter revenue of C$722,880 over last year, anticipates continued sales growth.
''We're expecting a very good fourth quarter,'' Lobsinger said of the period ending December 31.
Zi has also struck licensing deals with France-based telecoms equipment supplier Alcatel Alsthom and Swedish telecoms group Ericsson |
