Next Biometrics CFO steps down amid financial struggles

Next Biometrics’ Chief Financial Officer Eirik Underthun is stepping down, the company revealed on Thursday. The announcement comes amid the Norwegian fingerprint sensor maker’s poor financial performance, with shares down 90 percent this year on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Underthun is stepping down to pursue other career opportunities and will be replaced by Lars Bakklund as interim CFO, the firm says in the announcement. The executive joined the company in 2020 after working with oil and gas company SeaBird Exploration and telecommunication firms Tele2 and Telenor.​

“We thank Eirik for his contributions to NEXT and wish him all the best going forward,” says Ulf Ritsvall, CEO of Next Biometrics Group.

One day before Underthun’s departure was announced, Next said it completed its equity raise of 41 million Norwegian kroner (US$4.3 million) through a fully subscribed rights issue of 41 million new shares.

The company initiated the fundraising in March. At the time, Next said that raising cash by offering new shares to existing shareholders would give the company runway until mid-Q3 2026 if only the underwritten part of the 41 million Norwegian krone rights issue is subscribed for. If the maximum rights issue amount of 50 million Norwegian krone ($5.2 million) is subscribed for, the runway would last until early Q4 2026.

​In the first quarter of 2026, the company reported much lower revenues than expected, down 40 percent from Q1 last year. EBITDA hit a negative 30 million Norwegian krone ($3.1 million). ​Next is blaming sluggish revenues on a slowdown in government tenders, including low sales in India, one of the largest biometrics markets globally. The firm is also facing ongoing litigation in China.

​“We are suffering from a very slow market,” Underthun said during an earnings call in May. “As you have seen, the market size and market window from the government is very slow.”

The trend of declining sales in fingerprint sensors has prompted Next Biometrics to transition into an intellectual property company. The firm is pitching Anywhere-on-Display (AoD) technology, which allows the entire surface of a smartphone or foldable device screen to act as a fingerprint sensor. The company has partnered with Taiwanese firm Giantplus to create the product.

To fund the initiative, the company raised another long-term shareholder loan in January for 10 million Norwegian kroner ($1 million). The Anywhere-on-Display tech, however, is not expected to bring any short-term revenues, and the firm has been considering delisting from the Oslo Exchange.

The company is also exploring potential divestment, partnerships and licensing agreements for its fingerprint sensor business segment.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  fingerprint sensors  |  Next Biometrics  |  stocks