IDEX reports revenue dip in third quarter

Norwegian fingerprint sensor firm IDEX has reported revenues of NOK 3.5 million (US$430,000) in the third quarter of 2017 and NOK 15.0 million in the first nine months of 2017. In the corresponding periods of 2016, the company reported revenue of NOK 8.4 million and NOK 26.1 million respectively.In a statement, the firm wrote that during the first nine months of 2017, IDEX has made significant progress on commercialisation of its sensor solution for cards, further leveraging its leading position in the biometric cards market significantly ahead of potential competitors.”IDEX's market position is supported by the company's fundamental off-chip advantage for card sensors, which is a robust and proven solution. Global payment provider, Mastercard, and IDEMIA, a leading card integrator, selected IDEX's off-chip technology to develop a new generation of biometric smart cards. Through these partnerships, IDEX is equipped with an unparalleled capability for commercial mass deployment”The firm said the partners have completed several end-user trials with extremely positive feedback on the convenience, security and ease of use of the card. The completion of these real-life trials is a competitive advantage to IDEX's solution, allowing ongoing refinement to achieve for superior usability.In August, IDEX received an initial order for its smart card sensor from a major Asian authentication and security card customer for government identification and access control application. IDEX sees significant interest for biometric cards from a range of players, particularly in the Far East.After the end of the quarter, IDEX announced that it had entered into an innovation agreement with its global payment provider partner, by which IDEX will deliver a patented solution for low-cost, on-card remote enrolment and a compact matcher for commercial deployment in 2018. Together, these advanced offerings are expected to provide IDEX's customers with a complete and fully integrated solution to pursue a number of rapidly emerging opportunities in the biometric card market.IDEX's first priority is to strengthen its leadership position in the biometric cards market and to drive further adoption of its off-chip sensor technology in biometric applications. In addition, the company will continue to leverage its sensor solutions in the IoT market and further develop the solution for integrated display fingerprint sensors.The biometric card solution developed in partnership with Mastercard is expected to achieve certification shortly and the commercial roll-out is expected in early 2018. IDEX expects to secure additional customers on the back of strong commercial interest from customers. The company's sensor for contactless cards is expected to be ready for volume shipments in first half 2018.

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