Sweden's Precise Biometrics has reported that sales grew in the second quarter in comparison to the same period last year.Net sales for the remaining operation totaled SEK 20.2 million ($2.5 million), compared to 18.9 million last year. However, the operating profit totaled SEK 0.5 in comparison to 5.3 million. In a statement accompanying the Q2 report, the firm said a partnership with Silead has resulted in substantial royalty revenues as Precise BioMatch Mobile has been launched in a number of phone models from one of the world's biggest manufacturers.It ntoed that Precise Biometrics also concluded an agreement with IDENTOS to divest the Mobile Smart Card Solutions business area in order to focus its activities on the Fingerprint Technology business area.A licensing agreement was also signed with Korean sensor manufacturer Melfas. After the end of the quarter, a licensing agreement was signed with module house O-Film.CEO Håkan Persson commented:”It is gratifying that we have increased sales during the quarter, both sequentially and compared with the corresponding period in the previous year. … We now have royalty revenues from nine customers and continue to broaden the customer base in terms of both different technologies and geographical regions, in order to create good opportunities for growth and to reduce dependence on individual customer partnerships”He added that there is currently a surfeit of sensor manufacturers offering capacitive sensors for fingerprint recognition. “This has resulted in very tough competition with rapidly increasing demands for smaller sensors, better performance and lower prices, with suppliers that are already established enjoying competitive advantages. This makes it more challenging for many sensor manufacturers to break into the mobile phone manufacturers and capture bigger market shares. It is therefore more difficult to assess the sales volume of our customers during the second half of the year”. However, he noted that new sensor technologies such as ultrasound and optical sensors are on the rise, which changes the market dynamics and opens the door for new suppliers. ” Ultrasound and optical sensors make it possible to integrate fingerprint sensors in and under the display, creating new design possibilities and lower product costs. There is a large interest in these kinds of solutions among mobile phone manufacturers. Many of our customers are offering ultrasound or optical sensors, which means that we are well positioned for the upcoming technology shift. “
Precise Biometrics reports increased sales in Q2
