Idex reports curve bending upwards for biometric payment card orders, revenues, costs too

Norway’s Idex Biometrics has reported revenues of $787,000 for its fiscal fourth quarter of 2021, up 8 percent sequentially on higher shipments for the company’s primary biometric payment card customer, Idemia. Even more encouraging is a year-over-year comparison, as revenues were up 32 percent from Q4 2020.

Preliminary results for 2021 showed consolidated revenues of $2.8 million, up 159 percent from $1.1 million in full-year 2020. With a 35 percent higher headcount than a year ago, Idex’ operating expenses were also up, resulting in a net loss of $10.3 million for Q4, 2021, but was also impacted by currency fluctuations. Net loss for the year was $32.6 million, compared to a less of $26.8 million in 2020. Not loss per share was $0.01 in Q4 and $0.04 for 2021 overall.

Highlights for Idex during Q4 include approval of biometric payment cards made by Hengbao with the company’s technology to UnionPay by China’s Bank Card Test Center and deals with an unnamed global tier one smart card manufacturer, and Seoul-based Dongwoon Anatech on biometric sensors for access control and digital ID solutions. The first mass production volumes of TrustedBio sensors were shipped to Idemia for its F.CODE biometric cards during the quarter as well.

The results were in line with expectations, Idex CEO Vince Graziani says, and the company’s future prospects are buoyed by the “encouragingly higher volumes of fingerprint authentication solutions” shipped to Idemia, including the largest production order Idex has received to date.

“Supported by the Company’s recent achievements, our confidence in the long-awaited uptake of card-based fingerprint authentication remains high,” Graziani says. “We are seeing steadily increased interest by banks, challenger banks, and other payment card issuers in our value proposition and, based on current dialog with card manufacturers, we anticipate announcing additional design wins across the coming months. The Company also is enjoying momentum in the emerging data access / cybersecurity segment, as well as the digital wallet segment.”

Idex currently has an all-time high backlog after a series of design wins in Q4.

Share issuance announced

The company has also announced a grant of 8,350,900 incentive subscription rights to 30 new and continuing employees and individual contractors within the Idex Biometrics group. The exercise price is NOK 2.08 ($0.23) per share, and 25 percent of the subscription rights vest each year for four years, ending on May 12, 2026, as approved under the company’s 2021 incentive subscription rights plan.

Idex CTO Anthony Eaton received a grant of 836,900 incentive subscription rights.

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biometric cards  |  biometrics  |  financial results  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Idex Biometrics  |  stocks