By Tova Cohen
PARIS (Reuters) - Pinched by the weakening of the U.S. dollar against their currencies, European and Israeli technology exporters are looking increasingly to spread costs abroad to lessen the impact.
These companies have to convert the dollars they get for their goods to pay salaries and other expenses at home.
Many hedge to protect themselves in the short run, but in the longer term their best bet is to move more costs abroad, company executives said at the Reuters Global Technology, Media and Telecoms Summit in Paris.
That was the decision taken by British microchip designer ARM Holdings Plc (ARM.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which sees all its revenues in dollars and once had all its costs in pounds -- the pound has risen about 5 percent against the dollar in just the past year.
"You can't really hedge against a structural shift which has happened in the last 4 or 5 years," said Warren East, chief executive of British microchip designer ARM Holdings Plc
(ARM.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).
"Over the last several years we've moved from 20 percent of our costs in dollar or dollar-related currencies to approximately 50 percent. We're much better structurally hedged than we were before," East said.
That has been achieved in part by employing people in the United States, although this is a limited option due to expensive U.S. labor costs. Continued...
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