Signal processing IP licensor Ceva Inc. (Nasdaq:CEVA); LSE:CVA) has reported revenue for the first quarter of 2017 of $21.3 million, representing a 29% increase compared with the $16.5 million reported for the first quarter of 2016.
First quarter 2017 licensing and related revenue was a record $9.5 million, an increase of 10% compared with the $8.6 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the first quarter of 2017 was $11.8 million, an increase of 50% compared with the $7.9 million reported for the first quarter of 2016.
GAAP net profit for the first quarter of 2017 increased 128% to $4.1 million, compared with $1.8 million reported for the same period in 2016. GAAP diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2017 increased 111% to $0.19 from $0.09 a year ago.
Non-GAAP net profit and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2017 were $6.3 million and $0.28, respectively, representing a 77% and 65% increase, respectively, over the $3.5 million and $0.17 reported for the first quarter of 2016.
Ceva CEO Gideon Wertheizer said, "Our strongest licensing quarter in the company's history helped to deliver a fifth record revenue quarter in succession. We also significantly strengthened our backlog, reinforcing our confidence in achieving our annual licensing target.
"We continue to experience strong demand for our unique portfolio of specialized platforms, including 5G, computer vision, deep neural networks and connectivity, all of which are set to generate new royalty streams in the years ahead."
During the quarter, CEVA completed eleven license agreements. Eight of the agreements were for CEVA DSP cores, platforms and software and three were for CEVA connectivity IPs. All the licensing agreements completed during the quarter were for non-handset baseband applications. Four were with first-time customers of CEVA.
Target applications for customer deployment include: 5G base stations, automotive ADAS, smart surveillance cameras, smartphones, smart home appliances, and Bluetooth 4.2 and 5 connectivity for various IoT devices. One of the automotive ADAS agreements is with a leading manufacturer for supply of the computerized vision processor XM6 to be integrated into a smart driving system expected to be launched on the market early next year. The other is a first agreement with a large vehicle manufacturer that is examining the integration of Ceva's neural networks technology into level 3-5 autonomous vehicles.
Ceva CFO Yaniv Arieli said, "In addition to an all-time high licensing quarter, our customers shipped a record 352 million CEVA-powered chips, resulting in 50% year-over-year royalty revenue growth. We continued to strengthen our balance sheet during the quarter, with our cash balance, marketable securities and bank deposits totaling $164 million, with no debt."
In the conference call following the release of Ceva's results, Arieli provided guidance for the second quarter, usually characterized by a fall in royalty revenue post-Christmas, of $19.1-20.1 million revenue and earnings per share of $0.26-0.28, which compares with $0.21 in the second quarter of 2016.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 4, 2017
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2017