LONDON – Spreadtrum Communications Inc. continues to be stretched by demand for its mobile phone chips.

　　The company has revised guidance for sales in the second quarter ending June 30 up to between $270 million and $278 million, an increase of between 43 and 47 percent over the first quarter. 

　　This compares with previous guidance for 2Q13 of between $220 million to $228 million representing a guidance midpoint uplift of 22 percent.

　　Back in March Leo Li, Chairman and CEO of Spreadtrum (Shanghai, China), that the company was struggling to keep up with growing smartphone demand.

　　In the guidance note Li said: "We are increasing our revenue guidance due to the continuing strong demand throughout the quarter for low-cost smartphones." He added: "We are at the start of a multi-year cycle in China and emerging markets, of subscribers transitioning from 2.5G feature phones to smartphones, and are also benefiting from the continuing expansion of our smartphone portfolio." 

　　Spreadtrum supports 2G, 3G and 4G wireless communications standards with chipsets, customizable software and reference designs in turnkey platforms.