Digital ID helping at least one large firm out of doldrums

There are signs of growth among digital ID players, as earnings season continues.

Thales executives, reporting sales and order intake, say their business in digital identity and security, along with civil aerospace, were standouts during the first quarter, ended March 31.

Sales of digital ID products were €779 million (US$856.9 million), a 52 percent increase over the €740 million ($517 million) reported in the same period a year ago. Order intake in the most recent quarter was €778 million ($855.8 million), a 5 percent increase over the €740 million ($517 million) reported a year before.

Meanwhile, Assa Abloy, also reporting its first quarter, ended March 31, said net income grew 29 percent, to SEK 3.6 billion ($350 million), or SEK 3.32 ($0.33) per share, up from SEK 2.8 billion ($280 million), SEK 2.57 ($0.25), a year ago.

First-quarter sales was SEK 32.3 billion ($32.3 billion), as 22 percent improvement over the SEK 26.5 billion ($2.61 billion) reported a year ago.

The growth was attributed to organic gains in the firm’s Global Technologies division, which includes HID Global and the parent’s Global Solutions wing, and increased revenue by 24 percent.

NEC also reported progress getting itself out of a hole. Announcing its fiscal year ended March 31 (without detailing digital ID activity), NEC reported a 16.1 percent drop in net profit on a 10 percent jump in revenue.

The drop in net profit was a significant disappointment compared to the previous fiscal, ended March 31, 2022, when net profit fell 3.2 percent compared to the previous year. Fiscal 2022 revenue was a major improvement over the 0.7 percent growth recorded in 2021.

The company reported a net profit of 131.5 billion yen ($970 million), or 424.51 yen ($3.14) per basic share, on revenue of 3.3 billion ($24 million). This compares with a net profit of 156.6 billion yen ($1.16 billion), or 518.54 yen ($3.84) per basic share, on revenue of 3 billion yen ($22 million) for fiscal 2022.

Article Topics

Assa Abloy  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  financial results  |  HID  |  NEC  |  stocks  |  Thales