Spreadtrum is China’s largest supplier of smartphone application processors (APUs) and the first vendor to sell discrete APUs. In 2014, Spreadtrum’s sales went from black to red because the manufacturer was focusing on TD-SCDMA products – unable to react quickly enough to China’s smartphone subsidy reversal, Spreadtrum’s shipments cooled rapidly. Boosted by WCDMA shipments as well as orders from international manufacturers like Samsung, the APU maker’s sales warmed again but were significantly weaker than in the previous year...