Boost in the demand for technology such as in-car navigation and mobile phones raised revenues and quadrupled profits at the chip designer Imagination Technologies in the first-half of the current fiscal year till 31 October, leading the company to be confident that in the rest second half, flat licensing would pick up.

Imagination, which counts Intel and Apple among its major shareholders, reported pre-tax earnings of 4.4 million pounds ($7.15 million) for the first six months, on revenue of 38.2 million pounds, up 40 percent as compared to last year.

Finance Director, Trevor Selby said, "The smartphone is the area of the market that has held up very well. We are riding, or driving, the improvement in the user interface that require 3D or video technology." The British company, whose technology is in 150 cellphone handset models with 54 million chips shipped in the first half, is expecting more positive growth for the coming times.

The company's technology is employed by it in its Pure-branded digital radios, which also managed to post a 52% rise in revenue for the first-half.