Rambus, the controversial designer of fast memory chips, produced profits of $6.7m for Q2, ended March 31 (Q1 $6.2m and Q2, 2001 $8m) on sales down five per cent sequentially, and 25 per cent down on Q2, last year.

It was a good quarter for RDRAM commission, with royalties up 23 per cent sequentially. However, the increase in profits comes down mainly to lower operating expenses, especially with reduced litigation costs.

Operating costs in the March quarter were $2.5m less than the previous quarter, with legal fees running at $1.6m (Q2 $4.5m). Operating expenses in Q3 were $14.8m, compared with $17.3m in Q2 and $20.4m for the same period in 2001. ®