Precise Biometrics releases annual report for 2015

Precise Biometrics has released its Annual Report for 2015, which finds that the company’s sales during the year increased to SEK 56.3 million (US$6.93 million) from SEK 31.4 million (US$3.86 million) in 2014.

Precise Biometrics is organized into two business areas, fingerprint technology and mobile smart card solutions.

The company’s largest share of sales came from its fingerprint technology business segment, which accounted for SEK 42.6 million (US$5.24 million).

Sales in the fingerprint technology business area increased by 414 percent during the year. This explosive growth was realized, in particular, in fingerprint technology for mobile phones, which continues to lay down the foundation of Precise’s growth.

Precise’s mobile smart card solutions business area (Tactivo) also experienced an increase during the year to SEK 10.1 million (US$1.24 million).

Approximately one third of all smartphones sold in 2015 had fingerprint technology, as fingerprint readers have become standard in almost all premium models. Additionally, demand is quickly increasing for phones in the medium- and low-price segments.

Conversely, sales in Precise Biometrics desktop and physical access solutions business area saw a significant decline to SEK 3.6 million (US$0.44 million), which reflects the company’s strategy to change its sales mix.

The gross margin for the full year was 85 percent, up from 55 percent the previous year. This represents a gross profit of SEK 47.9 million (US$5.9 million), due to a higher proportion of software sales.

Precise Biometrics operating expenses for the full year fell to SEK 57.3 million (US$7.06 million), compared to SEK 61.7 million (US$7.61 million) in 2014. This is the result of the company’s increased focus on the fingerprint technology and mobile smart card solutions business areas.

The operating loss improved to SEK -9.4 million (-US$1.6 million) from SEK -44.5 (-US$5.49 million) in 2014, as a consequence of increased sales and a lower cost level. Additionally, its operating profit at EBITDA level of SEK 0.5 million (US$60,000) from SEK -31.7 (-US$3.91 million) was achieved for the full year 2015.

“We have established the company as the leading supplier of fingerprint software for the mobile market,” said Håkan Persson, CEO of Precise Biometrics. “The company is stronger than ever and is well positioned for continued growth in the areas of both fingerprint technology and mobile smartcard solutions. The trend in 2015 reflects strong sequential growth in both net sales and profit, which resulted in Precise Biometrics reporting an operating profit at EBITDA level for the full year.”

The report also mentions that Precise’s fingerprint software is integrated into mobile devices from nearly all major manufacturers, along with an established strong foothold in the Chinese mobile market, which accounts for roughly one third of global smartphone sales.

Additionally, Precise BioMatch Mobile has been integrated into more than 80 mobile phones from 30 mobile phone manufacturers, including Google, Huawei, HTC, Lenovo, LG, Sony and Xiaomi.

The company says that sales in its mobile smart card solutions business area has seen a 98 percent increase during the year as a result of several large orders from customers in the US government agency market, along with a significant demand in the UK and Swedish healthcare sectors.

Later in the report, Precise Biometrics outlines its ongoing objectives, which include aiming to increase sales and market share within the fingerprint technology for mobile devices segment; offering the best fingerprint software for small fingerprint sensors and platforms with limited processing power and memory, regardless of sensor technology, operating system or platform; and establishing a leading position in the field of fingerprint software for new product areas that require small sensors.

The company describes its growth strategy as a move to further strengthen its leading market position in relation to product development that creates added value for its customers. Additionally, it will continue to expand and develop its network of partners in order to increase sales and meet growth in the market.

In terms of its overall patent strategy, Precise Biometrics aims at securing the rights to its own technology and products in selected markets, which will create value for future business and improve its competitiveness.

Precise Biometrics has slowly strengthen its portfolio of patents to include 78 different registered patents and 14 patent applications within 19 different patent families at the end of 2015.

Previously reported, the company expanded its licensing agreement with Fingerprint Cards (FPC) to include Precise BioMatch Embedded for smart cards.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  financial report  |  fingerprint technology  |  Precise Biometrics