* Q2 profit $0.21 per ADS vs $0.29 loss/ADS year ago
* Q2 revenue at $71.4 mln
* Sees Q3 rev $88-96 mln
* Shares rise 9 pct in after-market trade
Aug 12 (Reuters) - Fabless semiconductor company Spreadtrum Communications Inc SPRD.O posted a quarterly profit as it shipped more third-generation chips and forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates, sending its shares up 9 percent.
For the third quarter, the wireless baseband chipset provider expects revenue of $88-96 million, with flat or slightly lower gross margins on a sequential basis. Analysts were expecting revenue of $76.7 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
For the second quarter, the Shanghai-based company reported net income of $11.1 million, or 21 cents per American Depository Share (ADS), compared with a net loss of $13.1 million, or 29 cents per ADS, a year ago. Excluding items, it earned 34 cents per ADS.
Revenue rose to $71.4 million from $16.2 million recorded a year ago.
Unit shipments of 3G semiconductors grew nearly 17-fold over last year. Its competitors for the Chinese 3G market include T3G Technology Co, Marvell Technologies MRVL.O and MediaTek Inc 2454.TW. Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 23 cents per ADS on revenue of $67.1 million.
Spreadtrum, which expects an increase in R&D expenses in the second half of the year, also named Chief Executive Officer Leo Li its board chairman.
Shares of the company rose 9 percent to $10.73 in trading after the bell. They closed at $9.86 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Shravya Jain in Bangalore; Editing by Vyas Mohan)
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