BUSINESS: NORDIC Q3 09 FINANCIAL RESULTS
Wireless PC peripherals segment continues to drive strong demand for the company's class leading 2.4GHz transceivers
Oslo, Norway - October 28, 2009 - Ultra low power (ULP) RF specialist Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE: NOD) today announces that despite the continued weakness in the global semiconductor industry, it has for the second consecutive quarter achieved record financial results during Q3 2009.
The company reported its highest ever quarterly revenue performance (NOK 133.1m, up 29% from Q3 2008), highest ever operating profit¹ (NOK 28.5m, up 45% from Q3 2008) and highest ever order inflows (NOK 161m, up 68% from Q3 2008).
The company's results were due to extremely strong, continued demand for its class-leading 2.4GHz transceivers in the wireless PC peripherals segment (keyboards, mice and controllers). This segment grew by 75% compared to Q3 last year and accounted for 60% of the company's overall revenues for the quarter. In addition, sales were strong across several other product categories, which all contributed to the company achieving its highest ever quarterly revenues.
"The wireless PC peripherals market has held up better than expected across all key vendors and geographies," comments Svenn-Tore Larsen, Nordic's Chief Executive Officer (CEO). "Although this has primarily been driven by the trend towards 2.4GHz replacing older 27MHz technology, it does include the impact of leading PC peripherals manufacturers re-building their inventories in expectation of increased demand during the second half of 2009.
"This anticipates a now pressing need to replace aging hardware, and also reflects the way consumers around the world have now come to use and value their PCs generally - regarding them more as an essential than a luxury, even in difficult economic times."
"With a cash balance of NOK 141m and no debt, Nordic Semiconductor has a very strong financial basis for further sustained growth," adds Robert Giori, Nordic's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), "even in what remains a difficult and still uncertain global financial climate."
Nordic Semiconductor was an early pioneer the ultra low power or 'ULP' wireless sector - providing cost effective, reliable ULP wireless connectivity between various (typically portable) devices and sensors that need to run on small batteries (such as coin cell watch batteries) for long periods of time (months to years). The early technological leadership it developed has never been lost.
The ULP wireless market is expected to be further propelled with the release of the forthcoming Bluetooth low energy standard due later this year which will add ULP wireless connectivity as standard to almost all next generation, Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones.
Nordic Semiconductor has taken an active role in developing the Bluetooth low energy standard within the Bluetooth SIG, and expects to be first-to-market in the first half of 2010 with single-mode Bluetooth low energy chipsets based on Nordic's existing 2.4GHz ULP wireless technology platform.
Full details of the company's Q3 09 results, as well as previous quarterly reports, can be downloaded from within the investor relations section of the company's website.
REFERENCES
1. EBIT - Earnings Before Interest and Taxes
About Nordic Semiconductor ASA
Nordic Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra-low power (ULP) short-range wireless communication. Nordic is a public company listed on the Norwegian stock exchange.
Nordic provides RF silicon solutions including:
- Highly integrated RF silicon
- Sophisticated and flexible development tools
- Application specific communication software
- Complete reference designs
The company's innovative range of wireless solutions includes:
- The nRF24LE1TM single-chip, ultra-low cost and power, fully integrated 2.4GHz transceiver with radio, microprocessor, flash memory and MultiCeiverTM technology supporting up to six simultaneous wireless devices;
- The nRF24L01+TM ultra-low cost and power 2.4GHz transceiver with MultiCeiver technology supporting up to six simultaneous wireless devices;
- The nRF24LU1+TM single chip 2.4GHz transceiver with full-speed USB, microcontroller and flash memory enabling ultra-compact USB dongles for wireless peripherals;
- The nRF24AP2TM ultra-low power 2.4GHz transceiver for wireless communication with Dynastream Innovation's production-proven low-power network protocol, ANTTM;
- The nRF24E1TM and nRF24E2TM low cost transceivers paired with an industry standard 8051 MCU core, and leading peripherals to create the world's first complete low cost SoCs for global 2.4GHz operation;
- The nRF24Z1TM single-chip system for CD quality audio streaming of up to 16-bit, 48-kHz audio;
- The nRF905TM single-chip multiband radio transceiver for the 433, 868 or 915MHz ISM band;
- The nRF9E5TM low-cost, single-chip system with fully integrated RF transceiver for the 433, 868 or 915MHz ISM band.
Nordic Semiconductor's nRF24xx range of 2.4GHz transceiver and transmitter devices are aimed at applications such as PC peripherals such as wireless keyboards/mice, game controllers, intelligent sports equipment and wireless audio (for example, mp3 and portable CD player headphones and PC speakers). The latest nRF24L01+ family, for instance, is targeted at ultra-low cost and power applications such as wireless desktops and intelligent (for example, wristwatch-based) sports equipment.
Nordic is an associate member of the Bluetooth SIG, and has contributed core expertise in ultra-low power RF design to the forthcoming specification for Bluetooth low energy wireless technology (formerly ultra low power Bluetooth). Bluetooth low energy wireless technology is a short range RF communication technology featuring ultra-low power consumption, a lightweight protocol stack and simple integration with Bluetooth® wireless technology chips. Bluetooth low energy wireless technology ushers in the next generation of RF communications by opening up many new opportunities for wireless data links between suitably equipped mobile phones or personal computers (PCs) and coin cell battery-powered devices such as sports and health sensors.
Nordic's products are all manufactured in ultra modern semiconductor process technologies through strong relationships with world-best manufacturing facilities. Sales are primarily made through a carefully selected worldwide distribution network. The company has offices in Trondheim and Oslo, Norway, the US (west coast), Hong Kong, Korea and Japan, and is listed on the Norwegian Stock Exchange (OSX: NOD). All operations are managed according to the ISO 9001:2000-approved quality assurance system.
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