MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., - CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of signal processing IP for smarter, connected devices, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016.

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $16.5 million, a 19% increase compared to $13.8 million reported for the first quarter of 2015. First quarter 2016 licensing and related revenue was $8.6 million, 10% higher when compared to $7.8 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was $7.9 million, an increase of 31% when compared to $6.0 million reported for the first quarter of 2015. 

Gideon Wertheizer, Chief Executive Officer of CEVA, stated: "We are pleased to report a well-executed first quarter with all-time high quarterly revenues. The licensing environment continued to be favorable, particularly for our vision products with three new vision deals signed. Our core business in cellular, together with a diversified portfolio of enabling technologies for smarter, connected devices, allows us to consistently outpace the growth of the overall semiconductor industry and deliver value for our stockholders."

U.S. GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2016 was $1.8 million, a 270% increase from $0.5 million reported for the same period in 2015. U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2016 were $0.09, an increase of 350% when compared to $0.02 for the first quarter of 2015.

Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2016 were $3.5 million and $0.17, respectively, representing a 115% and 113% increase, respectively, over the $1.6 million and $0.08 reported for the first quarter of 2015. Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2016 excluded (a) equity-based compensation expense of $1.4 million, net of taxes, and (b) the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles and other costs of $0.3 million associated with the acquisition of RivieraWaves. Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2015 excluded (a) equity-based compensation expense of$0.8 million, and (b) the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles and other costs, net of taxes, of $0.3 million associated with the acquisition of RivieraWaves.

During the quarter, CEVA completed eleven license agreements. Six of the agreements were for CEVA DSP cores, platforms and software and five of the agreements were for CEVA connectivity IPs. Of the eleven agreements signed during the quarter, ten were for non-baseband applications, and three were with first time customers for CEVA. Target applications for customer deployment are vision in smartphones, advanced audio for wireless speakers and sound bars and low power Bluetooth connectivity for hearing aid headsets and a variety of IoT devices. Geographically, four of the agreements signed were in the U.S, three were in Europe and four were in the APAC.

Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA, stated: "In addition to another strong licensing quarter, our market share expansion in LTE continues, with a record thirty five million shipped units reported in the quarter, resulting in 31% year-over-year royalty revenue growth. Reflecting our confidence in our business, we repurchased approximately 180,000 shares of our common stock during the quarter for an aggregate consideration of approximately $3.4 million. At the end of the quarter, our cash balance, marketable securities and bank deposits totaled $137 million."

To read financial tables, click  here

CEVA Conference Call

On May 2, 2016, CEVA management will conduct a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the operating performance for the quarter.

The conference call will be available via the following dial in numbers:

• U.S. Participants: Dial 1-866-364-3869 (Access Code: CEVA)
• International Participants: Dial +1-412-902-4215 (Access Code: CEVA)

The conference call will also be available live via the Internet at the following link:   https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/984/14483. Please go to the web site at least fifteen minutes prior to the call to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

For those who cannot access the live broadcast, a replay will be available by dialing +1-877-344-7529 or +1-412-317-0088 (access code: 10084016) from one hour after the end of the call until 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on May 09, 2016. The replay will also be available at CEVA's investor web site  investors.ceva-dsp.com.

About CEVA, Inc.

CEVA is the leading licensor of signal processing IP for a smarter, connected world. We partner with semiconductor companies and OEMs worldwide to create power-efficient, intelligent and connected devices for a range of end markets, including mobile, consumer, automotive, industrial and IoT. Our ultra-low-power IPs for vision, audio, communications and connectivity include comprehensive DSP-based platforms for LTE/LTE-A/5G baseband processing in handsets, infrastructure and machine-to-machine devices, computer vision and computational photography for any camera-enabled device, audio/voice/speech and ultra-low power always-on/sensing applications for multiple IoT markets. For connectivity, we offer the industry's most widely adopted IPs for Bluetooth (Smart and Smart Ready), Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g/n/ac up to 4x4) and serial storage (SATA and SAS). Visit us at  www.ceva-dsp.com