Automotive and industrial market drives double-digit growth for u-blox in 1H2023
Date: 21/08/2023
Wireless module and semiconductor chip maker u-blox reported a revenue of 332.3 Million CHF in first half of 2023, compared to a revenue of 294.4 Million CHF in first half of 2022, grew by 12.9%.
The growth was attributed to the growing markets of automotive and industrial.
Stephan Zizala, u-blox’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am pleased with our strong first half-year results. We grew revenues by double digits on top of an exceptional growth realized in the first half of last year. We also achieved good profitability with an EBIT margin of 18.6% in line with the guidance initially provided for 2023.
In a softening macro-economic and global semiconductor market environment, our orderbook for the second half of 2023 developed more slowly than initially anticipated. Mainly due to unfavorable FX rates and overstocking, we expect Q3 revenues and profitability to be weak, with an improvement in Q4.
While we must deal with cycle adaptation, I remain very confident about u-blox’s long-term outlook and growth trajectory thanks to our strong structural growth drivers in automotive and industrial target applications. We are winning important new projects at leading customers. A large design-win for automated driving ramping in 2026 and an innovative approach for satellite IoT connectivity are testimony to these future development prospects.”
The other highlights from the company release includes:
u-blox secured a design-win in autonomous driving with a leading car manufacturer valued in the mid double-digit million CHF range over the life of the agreement with deliveries expected to commence in 2026.
JODY-W5 is u-blox’s newest dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and dual-mode Bluetooth 5.3 module. This automotive-grade module with Bluetooth LE audio in a compact form factor is ideal for preventing wireless network congestion in the car and delivering enhanced audio functionalities.
U-blox formed an exclusive partnership with Orbcomm, an American supplier of satellite connectivity, modems and terminals to the industrial IoT market. Such connectivity is essential for application in areas with weak communication infrastructure thus assuring ubiquitous connectivity. U-blox will be able to cover Orbcomm’s satellite protocols and 3GPP LTE-M needs, at attractive cost.
U-blox also launched NEO-F9P and ZED-F9P-15B: The low-power, small-sized NEO-F9P module supports precise navigation and automation of moving industrial machinery. U-blox ZED-F9P-15B module provides customers in the mobile robotics market with an L1/L5 frequency bands in addition to L1/L2 option bands for enhanced functional robustness.
Asia-Pacific generated maximum revenue of CHF 144.6 million for u-blox in 1st Half 2023. and by segment wise industrial was the highest revenue generating application, where u-blox generated revenue of CHF 217.9 million in 1st Half 2023.
