By Anna Prior 
 

Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) said its first-quarter profit fell 14% as the chip maker's revenue and product margin slipped.

The company projected revenue of about $2 billion to $2.1 billion for the current quarter, less than the $2.07 billion estimate from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

Broadcom relies heavily on the handheld-device market, as it makes chips for about half the world's tablets and smartphones. For instance, it supplies chips for Apple Inc.'s iPads and iPhones, as well as for Samsung Electronics Co.'s Galaxy phones.

While Broadcom has sought to expand its share of the network-processor market, the company has also worked to further tighten its hold on the mobile-communications space by trying to keep up with the transition to next-generation technology.

In 2013, the company agreed to buy the LTE, or Long Term Evolution, assets from Renesas Electronics Corp. for $164 million. In December, the company said Samsung Electronics is officially a customer for Broadcom's baseband chips for broadband wireless LTE connections.

Overall, Broadcom reported a profit of $165 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $191 million, or 33 cents a share. Excluding stock-based compensation, settlement costs, and other items, per-share earnings fell to 51 cents from 65 cents. Analysts were expecting per-share earnings of 46 cents.

Revenue slipped 1% to $1.98 billion, in-line with the company's estimate of $1.9 billion to $2 billion.

Product gross margin narrowed slightly to 49.4% from 49.6%. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, adjusted product gross margin was flat at 52.2%.

Shares edged down four cents to $31.10 in after-hours trading. Through Thursday's close, the stock has fallen 11% in the last 12 months.

Write to Anna Prior at anna.prior@wsj.com

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