News Article
CEVA announce positive results
Company achieves record royalty revenue of $4.3 million and $14.3 million, up 41% and 58% on year over year basis.
Despite all the negative news – within the industry CEVA, a licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores for the handset, consumer electronics and portable device markets, has announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008.
Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $10.0 million, an increase of 21% compared to $8.2 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007. Licensing revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $4.6 million, an increase of 15% from $4.0 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007. Royalty revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was a record high $4.3 million, an increase of 41% from $3.0 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007 and a 30% sequential increase from the third quarter of 2008. Revenue from services and support for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $1.1 million, compared to $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2007.
The financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 include equity-based compensation expense of $0.8 million; a pre-tax capital gain of $0.9 million associated with our equity divestment of GloNav Inc to NXP Semiconductors and a one-time reorganization expense of $0.6 million related to the recent cost reduction measures taken to reduce the on-going expenses associated with the Company’s SATA activities.
During the fourth quarter, CEVA continued to implement its previously-announced one million share buy-back program. As of February 2, 2009, the Company repurchased approximately 753,000 shares at an average price of $7.70 per share for a total amount of approximately $5.8 million and has an additional 247,000 shares available for repurchase under the existing plan.
During the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company concluded six new license agreements, all of which are for CEVA DSP cores, platforms and software. Target applications for customer deployment are 2G and 3G handsets, smartphones and mobile multimedia products. Geographically, four of the six deals concluded were in Europe, one in the U.S. and one in the Asia Pacific region. Of the license deals concluded, two are with strategic customers. One of the strategic agreements is with a large merchant chip supplier in the handset market who signed a comprehensive agreement for the use of CEVA DSP cores in low-end and mid-range handset products. The second strategic agreement is with a leading Asia-based semiconductor company in the consumer market who is expanding into the handset market targeting the 3G segment.
Gideon Wertheizer, Chief Executive Officer of CEVA, said, “I am very proud of CEVA’s progress during 2008. It was an outstanding year for the Company from both a strategic and a business perspective. Not only have we gained considerable market traction in the handset, portable and consumer electronics markets, but as a result of the industry-wide migration to CEVA DSP cores, our technologies are now in mass production at Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Sony Electronics and many others. I believe that our market position and strong business fundamentals will allow us to keep growing, even in the midst of uncertain economic times.”
Total revenue for 2008 was $40.4 million, representing an increase of 22% compared to $33.2 million reported for 2007. Royalty revenue for 2008 was a record high of $14.3 million, representing an increase of 58% compared to $9.1 million reported for 2007. Licensing revenue for 2008 was $21.7 million, an increase of 11% compared to $19.5 million a year ago. A total of 30 new licensing agreements were signed in 2008, compared to 36 agreements in 2007. Shipped units by licensees increased 36% to a record 307 million in 2008, compared to 227 million units shipped in 2007.
Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA, stated, “The fourth quarter of 2008 delivered another significant milestone for CEVA with record high royalty revenue of $4.3 million. This continued royalty progress is clearly reflected in the Company’s record full year 2008 financials with total revenue up 22% year-over-year to $40.4 million, combined with significant profitability and net income per share improvements. The Company also managed to generate positive cash flow of $8.3 million during 2008, strengthening our balance sheet considerably. As of December 31, 2008, CEVA’s cash balances and marketable securities were $84.6 million. In the context of the current economic downturn, we recently made adjustments to our 2009 expense levels to ensure the sustainability of our financial progress by reducing overall expenses by approximately $1.0 million,”
Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $10.0 million, an increase of 21% compared to $8.2 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007. Licensing revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $4.6 million, an increase of 15% from $4.0 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007. Royalty revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was a record high $4.3 million, an increase of 41% from $3.0 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2007 and a 30% sequential increase from the third quarter of 2008. Revenue from services and support for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $1.1 million, compared to $1.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2007.
The financial results for the fourth quarter of 2008 include equity-based compensation expense of $0.8 million; a pre-tax capital gain of $0.9 million associated with our equity divestment of GloNav Inc to NXP Semiconductors and a one-time reorganization expense of $0.6 million related to the recent cost reduction measures taken to reduce the on-going expenses associated with the Company’s SATA activities.
During the fourth quarter, CEVA continued to implement its previously-announced one million share buy-back program. As of February 2, 2009, the Company repurchased approximately 753,000 shares at an average price of $7.70 per share for a total amount of approximately $5.8 million and has an additional 247,000 shares available for repurchase under the existing plan.
During the fourth quarter of 2008, the Company concluded six new license agreements, all of which are for CEVA DSP cores, platforms and software. Target applications for customer deployment are 2G and 3G handsets, smartphones and mobile multimedia products. Geographically, four of the six deals concluded were in Europe, one in the U.S. and one in the Asia Pacific region. Of the license deals concluded, two are with strategic customers. One of the strategic agreements is with a large merchant chip supplier in the handset market who signed a comprehensive agreement for the use of CEVA DSP cores in low-end and mid-range handset products. The second strategic agreement is with a leading Asia-based semiconductor company in the consumer market who is expanding into the handset market targeting the 3G segment.
Gideon Wertheizer, Chief Executive Officer of CEVA, said, “I am very proud of CEVA’s progress during 2008. It was an outstanding year for the Company from both a strategic and a business perspective. Not only have we gained considerable market traction in the handset, portable and consumer electronics markets, but as a result of the industry-wide migration to CEVA DSP cores, our technologies are now in mass production at Nokia, Samsung, LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Sony Electronics and many others. I believe that our market position and strong business fundamentals will allow us to keep growing, even in the midst of uncertain economic times.”
Total revenue for 2008 was $40.4 million, representing an increase of 22% compared to $33.2 million reported for 2007. Royalty revenue for 2008 was a record high of $14.3 million, representing an increase of 58% compared to $9.1 million reported for 2007. Licensing revenue for 2008 was $21.7 million, an increase of 11% compared to $19.5 million a year ago. A total of 30 new licensing agreements were signed in 2008, compared to 36 agreements in 2007. Shipped units by licensees increased 36% to a record 307 million in 2008, compared to 227 million units shipped in 2007.
Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA, stated, “The fourth quarter of 2008 delivered another significant milestone for CEVA with record high royalty revenue of $4.3 million. This continued royalty progress is clearly reflected in the Company’s record full year 2008 financials with total revenue up 22% year-over-year to $40.4 million, combined with significant profitability and net income per share improvements. The Company also managed to generate positive cash flow of $8.3 million during 2008, strengthening our balance sheet considerably. As of December 31, 2008, CEVA’s cash balances and marketable securities were $84.6 million. In the context of the current economic downturn, we recently made adjustments to our 2009 expense levels to ensure the sustainability of our financial progress by reducing overall expenses by approximately $1.0 million,”
