GÖTEBORG, SE / ACCESS Newswire / February 18, 2025 / Smart Eye (STO:SEYE)(OTC PINK:SMTEF) (FRA:SE9) Strong growth and improved profitability
October - December 2024
Net sales amounted to SEK 100.3 (91.3) million, an increase of 10% compared to the corresponding period the previous year. Automotive continues to grow and Behavioral Research reports an all-time high in Net Sales.
Adjusted organic growth amounted to 18%.
Net Sales have been adjusted with SEK -6.2 million to better reflect Automotive NRE revenue distribution over the development project's life cycle, since Q4 2023. The amount referring to the same quarter last year amounts to SEK -1,1 million.
Gross profit amounted to SEK 90.2 (80.2) million and gross margin amounted to 90% (88%).
EBITDA amounted to SEK -18.7 (-24.3) million including restructuring costs SEK -9,8 million.
EBITDA excluding adjusted NRE revenue and restructuring costs amounted to SEK -2.7 (-19.5) million, an improvement of SEK 16.8 million.
Operating loss amounted to SEK -63.1 (-67.1) million, whereof depreciation of the surplus value amounted to SEK -29.7 (-29.5) million.
Earnings after tax per share are -1.78 (3.87), and after full dilution -1.78 (3.75).
Cash and cash equivalents totaled SEK 22.4 million at the end of December. The cash ending balance, including credit facilities, amounted to SEK 229.7 million.
Smart Eye has during the quarter announced an expansion of credit facility with SEK 150 million and a change of Certified Adviser to Berg Securities.
Smart Eye has after the period ending announced that it has entered into an agreement to license the iris recognition technology from Fingerprint Cards AB (publ) and that the company have won two more design wins with Interior Sensor with a Korean OEM, with an estimated order value of SEK 100 million.
January - December 2024
Net sales amounted to SEK 355.0 (302.2) million, which corresponds to an increase of 17%.
Adjusted organic growth amounted to 18%.
Net Sales have been adjusted with SEK -6.2 million to better reflect Automotive NRE revenue distribution over the development project's life cycle, whereof SEK -5.1 million refers to 2024.
Gross profit amounted to SEK 319.0 (267.1) million, an improvement of SEK 51.9 million. Gross margin improved to 90% (88%).
Operating loss amounted to SEK -250.3 (-282.9) million, whereof depreciation of the surplus value amounted to SEK -116.2 (-116.3) million.
Profit/loss after financial items amounted to SEK -252.7 (-283.2) million.
Earnings after tax per share are -6.23 (-2.14), and after full dilution -6.23 (-2.14).
Comments from the CEO
The fourth quarter came in according to our plan. The temporary slowdown in the behavioral research market was a thing of the past, and we managed to have a new record quarter boosted by the seasonal end of year effect. Moreover, the automotive business unit achieved a record high result fueled by increased license revenues. We have continued to exercise tight cost control including decreased headcount with the target to save 10 MSEK per quarter compared to Q2 2024. This savings target will be reached by the end of Q1.
All in all, this has led to an improved EBITDA to -19 MSEK, with an underlying operational EBITDA of only -3 MSEK. We see this quarter as an important milestone toward profitability.
Automotive
The global automotive industry had a decent year in 2024, with total vehicle volumes increasing almost 2%. The worst- case scenarios stemming from the slowdown in the middle of the year fortunately never materialized and we saw our OEMs finally starting the long-awaited ramp-up during the fall. In Q4 we had a solid organic growth of 42%, but that's not the best part. The license revenue grew 200% compared to the same quarter last year, but not even that is the best part. The best part is that we expect the rate of growth to continue to increase to even higher levels in the years to come. In other words, license revenue growth slowed down during Covid but an inflection point was reached in 2023 and since then the rate of growth is accelerating.
During the year the number of car models to reach production increased from 40 to 75, 8 of which came in Q4. Several of these cars have not ramped up production yet, so volumes will increase organically as the ramp-up progresses. Furthermore, we estimate that 70 to 80 new car models will enter production in 2025, being the main driver of rapidly increasing license revenues. The non-license part of the revenues is flat and will probably decrease during 2025 due to large projects getting delivered. During this quarter we changed the way we report NRE projects, to better reflect how projects evolve over time, resulting in a one-time post of -6 MSEK, not affecting the cash flow.
After quarter four ended, we received two new design wins for Interior Sensing, with a Korean customer that has already sourced us for DMS. This is a quite typical customer behavior that we anticipate will happen a lot during the years to come.
We are fully immersed in the exciting ongoing nomination season. We are in an excellent position, and we strive to defend our market leadership and our already high market share for the future.
Behavioral Research
The behavioral research had its strongest quarter ever, coming in 7% higher than last year's Q4 which was the previous record. We did expect a good last quarter, but this exceeded our expectations as the market has been adverse and characterized with both delays and price pressure. This success is a testament to the talent of the teams and the hard work everyone has put in.
Since the beginning of 2025 we have merged the teams of iMotions and Affectiva Media Analytics, something we expect to produce synergies in both sales and innovation for this year.
All in all, we stand well prepared for the upcoming year with the Behavioral Research business area both profitable and growing.
Final Words
For 2025 we have our gaze set on reaching positive EBITDA as soon as possible, with positive cash flow following suite.
We intensely pursue our Automotive activities with existing and new clients to secure further design wins and thereby our long-term sales and leadership ambitions. We continue with our cost savings in parallel with a prudent capital allocation giving us room to maneuver in a steadily accelerating market. We continue to develop our automotive product portfolio and features to remain unique to stay ahead and to increase future margins.
The collaboration we initiated with Fingerprint Cards last quarter illustrates well how we grasped the opportunity to further strengthen our product offering. They had in their hands the world leading Iris Authentication technology, and we have the world leading market position for driver and passenger understanding technology. It is a classic case of mutual benefits at play, and we're excited to have already presented the solution to customers at CES. Our firm prediction is that advanced authentication is as self-evident for Automotive as it is for mobile phones.
The Automotive interior sensing industry is likely to continue to consolidate among Tier- 1:s and Tier-2:s, as we have seen from example last quarter. Smart Eye is well placed and prepared to independently face and serve the OEMs in an evolving and dynamic market, either directly as software Tier 1 or together with strong partners as software Tier 2.
Behavioral Research will continue their steady progress with profitable growth even if Q1 might be challenging, seen in the light of our strong seasonal finish in Q4 2024.
Martin Krantz
CEO Smart Eye
Find the full report and all previous financial reports at https://smarteye.se/investors/financial-reports/ .
For more information:
Martin Krantz, CEO Smart Eye AB
Phone: +46 70-329 26 98
Email: martin.krantz@smarteye.se
About Smart Eye
Smart Eye is the leading provider of Human Insight AI, technology that understands, supports and predicts human behavior in complex environments. The company is on a mission to bridge the gap between humans and machines for a safe and sustainable future. Supported by Affectiva and iMotions - companies it acquired in 2021 - Smart Eye's multimodal software and hardware solutions provide unparalleled insight into human behavior.
In automotive, Smart Eye's driver monitoring systems and interior sensing solutions improve road safety and the mobility experience. The company's eye tracking technology and iMotions biosensor software platform are also used in behavioral research to enable advanced research in academic and commercial sectors. In media analytics, Affectiva's Emotion AI provides the world's largest brands and market researchers with a deeper understanding of how consumers engage with content, products, and services.
Founded in 1999, Smart Eye is a global company headquartered in Sweden, with customers including NASA, Nissan, Boeing, Honeywell, Volvo, GM, BMW, Polestar, Geely, Harvard University, 26 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and over 1,300 research organizations around the world.
Visit www.smarteye.ai for more information.
Visit our investor web for more financial information: https://smarteye.se/investors/
Smart Eye is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The Company's Certified Adviser is Bergs Securities AB.
This information is information that Smart Eye is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2025-02-18 08:00 CET.
Attachments
Smart Eye Year End Report Q4 2024
SOURCE: Smart Eye
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
