CEVA, Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter And 2003 Year-End Results
San Jose, CA - January 27, 2004 - CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA; LSE:
CVA), the leading licensor of Digital Signal Processor (DSP) cores and
communication solutions to the semiconductor industry, today announced
results for the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2003.
Fourth Quarter Ended Dec. 31, 2003
Total revenues in the fourth quarter increased to $9.6 million,
compared with $9.3 million in the third quarter. Licensing revenues
increased to $6.6 million, compared with $6.5 million in the third
quarter. Royalty revenues increased to $1.4 million, compared with $1.2
million in the third quarter. Gross margins were 85 percent, unchanged
from the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, CEVA signed eight new license agreements,
launched its pioneering CEVA-X DSP architecture, which it licensed to
leading cellular handset and semiconductor companies, and announced
further licensing agreements with industry leaders including Broadcom,
Spreadtrum and Via Telecom. This industry adoption drove significant
growth in DSP revenues over the third quarter. Royalty revenues posted
continued growth reflecting the success of licensees shipping CEVA powered
DSP solutions into the wireless and digital multimedia markets.
CEVA implemented a realignment program in the fourth quarter to
eliminate non-strategic products, focus the organization on DSP
technologies, and position the company for profitability in 2004. As a
result, the company incurred a fourth quarter restructuring and impairment
of assets charge of $9.1 million, of which $3.1 million was a cash charge.
Including the restructuring and impairment of assets charge, net loss in
the fourth quarter was $9.6 million or $0.53 net loss per share, compared
with a net loss of $1.1 million or $0.06 net loss per share in the third
quarter. Excluding the restructuring and impairment of assets charge, net
loss in the fourth quarter was $500,000 or $0.03 net loss per share.
Fiscal Year 2003 Ended Dec. 31, 2003
Total revenues for 2003 were $36.8 million. Licensing revenues for the
year were $25.7 million and royalty revenues were $4.1 million. The
remaining $7.0 million revenues was derived from services and consulting.
The company signed a total of 25 licensing agreements, predominantly in
DSP technologies, the company's core focus. Gross margins for 2003 were 84
percent. Including restructuring and impairment of assets charges of $11.9
million during fiscal year 2003, total operating expenses were $42.5
million, net loss was $12 million, and net loss per share was $0.66.
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the fourth quarter were $59.1
million.
"The fourth quarter was very successful on many fronts. We achieved our
best ever performance in DSP licensing and again recorded good growth in
royalties, which grew 23 percent over the third quarter," said Chet
Silvestri, president and CEO of CEVA. "In the fourth quarter we also
launched our industry-leading CEVA-X DSP architecture, which we have now
licensed to two industry leaders in the wireless market. In addition, our
realignment program is resulting in a more cost-efficient company,
positioned to expand our leadership in the high-growth DSP market."
"Supported by continued industry growth in programmable DSP shipments,
with a strong portfolio of licensable DSP cores and solutions and a more
cost-efficient organization, we believe we are well positioned to achieve
our corporate goals of growth and profitability," said Christine Russell,
CFO of CEVA.
CEVA Conference Call
The management of CEVA will hold a conference call for investors and
analysts at 8:00 am PST, 11:00 am EST, 16:00 GMT and 17:00 CET on
Wednesday Jan. 28, 2004. The conference call will be available via the
following dial-in numbers:
US Participants Telephone: +1 866 629 0054 (password: CEVA)
UK/European Participants Telephone: +44 1452 569 340 (Password: CEVA)
A recording will be available approximately one hour after the call for
five working days at the following dial-in numbers:
US Participants Telephone: +1 706 645 9291 (Access code: 4884580#)
UK/European Participants Telephone: +44 1452 55 00 00 (Access code:
4884580#)
The call can also be accessed via CEVA's website at ceva-dsp.com.
Follow the directions on the main page to link to the audio. Please go to
the website at least 15 minutes prior to the call to register, and to
download and install any necessary audio software. The webcast will be
archived for 30 days.
About CEVA, Inc.
Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., CEVA is the leading licensor of digital signal processor (DSP) cores, multimedia, GPS and storage platforms to the semiconductor industry. CEVA licenses a family of programmable DSP cores, associated SoC system platforms and a portfolio of application platforms including multimedia, audio, Voice over Packet (VoP), GPS location, Bluetooth, Serial Attached SCSI and Serial ATA (SATA). In 2005 CEVA's IP was shipped in over 115 million devices. CEVA was created through the merger of the DSP licensing division of DSP Group and Parthus Technologies. For more information, visit ceva-dsp.com.
Presentation of Non-GAAP Information
Management believes that it is useful to present net income (loss) and
expenses figures above, excluding the restructuring charge, because
management believes that the figures provide a better picture of the
company's historical operating results and a more useful point of
comparison for its future performance.
Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations &
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
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Safe Harbor Statement
Various statements in this press release
concerning CEVA's future expectations, plans and prospects are
"forward-looking statements", which are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from
those stated. Any statements that are not statements of historical fact
(including, without limitation, statements to the effect that the company
or its management "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "plans" and
similar expressions) should be considered forward-looking statements.
These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that
could cause actual results to differ materially from those described,
including the following:
- The industries in which we license our
technology are experiencing a challenging period of slow growth that has
negatively impacted and could continue to negatively impact our business
and operating results; - The markets in which we operate are highly
competitive, and as a result we could experience a loss of sales, lower
prices and lower revenue; - Our operating results fluctuate from quarter to
quarter due to a variety of factors including our lengthy sales cycle,
and are not a meaningful indicator for future performance - We rely significantly on revenue derived from a
limited number of licensees; and - Other risks discussed in "Management's
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations--Factors that Could Affect Our Operating Results," in our
quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the third quarter of 2003, filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 13, 2003.