CSR first-quarter revenue falls 24 pct

LONDON, April 30 (Reuters) - British chipmaker CSR (Frankfurt: GQY.F - news) reported first-quarter revenue of $180.8 million, down 24 percent but in line with its own forecast, as it shifted its mix towards products for higher-margin markets like music, audio and automotive.

Chief Executive Joep van Beurden said the group was moving towards a more profitable platform business which provided growth opportunities.

Underlying operating profit for the 13 weeks to March 28 was $11.5 million, down from $19.1 million the previous year.

"Encouragingly, our underlying gross margin reached a record of 55.7 percent and we are making good progress in our core businesses of Voice & Music, Auto factory-fit and Bluetooth Smart (Jakarta: SMAR.JK - news) ," he said on Wednesday.

The Bluetooth technology specialist, which halted development of products for digital cameras last year, said it expected second-quarter revenue to be between $190 million and $210 million.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)