GÖTEBORG, SE / ACCESS Newswire / May 13, 2025 / Smart Eye (STO:SEYE)(OTC PINK:SMTEF)(FRA:SE9) - Cost savings and license revenues improve profitability
January - March 2025
-
Net sales amounted to SEK 90.1 (86.1) million, an increase of 5% compared to the corresponding period the previous year.
-
Adjusted organic growth amounts to 7%, driven by Automotive which amounts to +27%.
-
Gross profit amounted to SEK 79.9 (77.3) million and gross margin decreased to 89% (90%) due to a change in sales of the product mix.
-
EBITDA improved to SEK -17.9 (-23.0) million.
-
Adjusted EBITDA, excluding one-off items, amounted to -14.4 (-13.3) MSEK, a deterioration attributed to investment in sales and marketing activities.
-
Operating loss amounted to SEK -61.4 (-61.5) million, whereas the depreciation of the surplus value amounted to SEK- 28.9 (-28.4) million.
-
Earnings after tax per share are -1.47 (-1.53), and after full dilution -1.47 (-1.53).
-
Cash and cash equivalents totaled SEK 9.6 million at the end of March. The cash ending balance, including credit facilities, amounted to SEK 130.9 million.
-
Smart Eye has acquired a license for an Iris recognition technology from Fingerprint Cards AB (publ).
-
Smart Eye has won two more design wins with Interior Sensor with a Korean OEM, with an estimated order value of SEK 100 million.
-
Smart Eye has, after the period ended, announced six new design wins, of which three new with Interior Sensing, with a total estimated order value of SEK 325 million.
Comments from the CEO
The first quarter went exactly as planned for Automotive Solutions, while Behavioral Research suffered from uncertainties regarding research funding in the US. Fortunately, at the same time, our cost savings started to bite. When fully implemented, they will lead to 40 MSEK in yearly savings. All in all, we managed to offset the small setback in the research sector so that we follow our plan and stand in a perfect position for improved EBITDA and cash flow for the rest of the year. Our outlook is that we're on the cusp of positive EBITDA in Q2 and solidly positive in Q3 of this year, riding the wave of increased automotive license revenue.
Automotive
While the beginning of the year for Smart Eye included securing some scattered design wins in Europe and Korea, for DMS as well as CMS, the Big Kahuna was announced just three days after the quarter ended. Two design wins as software Tier-1 with a world leading Japanese OEM, with a high possibility to be expanded far beyond the original scope. It just happened to arrive on the same day as the US tariffs were announced, which somewhat obscured the news value of the largest deal in the history of Interior Sensing. We have been working to secure this deal for several years, and it puts us firmly in the driver seat in the very important and export oriented Japanese auto industry. Smart Eye stands on solid ground, with more car models under contract (design wins) than any other company, and that with the world's biggest car OEMs. The rollout of all our contracts is going to continue for over a decade, with increased license revenues following suite.
We have a total of 365 design wins of which 75 entered production last year. Ten more were added in Q1 with two more OEMs, meaning that 12 out of 23 OEMs have started their production. Our automotive growth was 27%, consisting almost entirely of license revenue growing at over 100%, while services revenue was flat. For the rest of the year, we see services starting to increase again, in big part due to the large Japanese deal.
We are involved in several big global procurements. Since we have a very strong technology offering as well as a reputation for always delivering high quality on time, we anticipate further successes during the year to come.
Behavioral Research
We did not plan for or expect an extremely strong opening of the year for Research, but we were at least expecting modest growth. However, the turmoil in the wake of the new US administration raised a lot of questions about both university and government funded research. The uncertainties caused delays that in the end resulted in a pullback of -5%, primarily due to North America. Other regions are doing well. We believe that investments in research equipment will go back to previous levels quite soon so that we can return to our previous growth trajectory. In the first quarter the business unit is both profitable and cash flow positive despite the minor pullback.
Final Words
The quarter saw some headwinds due to market uncertainties, but in the end, we delivered solidly on what matters the most: extreme cost control in order to ensure maneuvering space, so that license revenues grow until they catch up with our
Opex. One of our credit facilities expired during the quarter, but we did not see the need to renew it. With 131 MSEK in cash and credit facilities, we have sufficient headroom in light of the strong outlook for revenue improvements during Q2 and Q3. We do not anticipate that any further cost saving programs will be needed.
Martin Krantz
CEO Smart Eye
Find the full report and all previous financial reports at https://smarteye.se/investors/financial-reports/ .
In connection with the publication of the quarterly report, a live presentation followed by a Q&A session will be held. A link to the webcast is available here: https://www.redeye.se/events/1090590/live-q-smart-eye-10
For more information:
Martin Krantz, CEO Smart Eye AB
Phone: +46 70-329 26 98
Email: martin.krantz@smarteye.se
About Smart Eye
Smart Eye is the leading provider of Human Insight AI, technology that understands, supports and predicts human behavior in complex environments. The company is on a mission to bridge the gap between humans and machines for a safe and sustainable future. Supported by Affectiva and iMotions - companies it acquired in 2021 - Smart Eye's multimodal software and hardware solutions provide unparalleled insight into human behavior.
In automotive, Smart Eye's driver monitoring systems and interior sensing solutions improve road safety and the mobility experience. The company's eye tracking technology and iMotions biosensor software platform are also used in behavioral research to enable advanced research in academic and commercial sectors. In media analytics, Affectiva's Emotion AI provides the world's largest brands and market researchers with a deeper understanding of how consumers engage with content, products, and services.
Founded in 1999, Smart Eye is a global company headquartered in Sweden, with customers including NASA, Nissan, Boeing, Honeywell, Volvo, GM, BMW, Polestar, Geely, Harvard University, 26 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies, and over 1,300 research organizations around the world.
Visit www.smarteye.ai for more information.
Visit our investor web for more financial information: https://smarteye.se/investors/
Smart Eye is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market. The Company's Certified Adviser is Bergs Securities AB.
This information is information that Smart Eye is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact persons set out above, at 2025-05-13 07:00 CEST.
Attachments
Interim Report Q1 2025
SOURCE: Smart Eye
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
