- Third license agreement signed for NeuPro AI processor in the quarter
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 7, 2018 — (PRNewswire) — CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of signal processing platforms and artificial intelligence processors for smarter, connected devices, announced today its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018.
Total revenue for the second quarter of 2018 was $17.5 million, a 15% decrease compared to $20.6 million reported for the second quarter of 2017. Second quarter 2018 licensing and related revenue was $10.0 million, a decrease of 3% when compared to $10.3 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the second quarter of 2018 was $7.5 million, a decrease of 27% when compared to $10.2 million reported for the second quarter of 2017.
Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA, stated: "Our licensing business continued on track in the second quarter, with healthy demand for our AI, computer vision and connectivity products. Our second quarter royalty revenue came in below expectations due to continued unexpected weakness with one of our large Chinese handset baseband customers. We now expect the weakness with this Chinese customer to continue for the rest of the year and have reduced our annual royalty expectations accordingly. With that said, we are encouraged by a new production ramp and share gain of a flagship smartphone and the continued expansion of our non-handset baseband products. As a result, we expect royalties for the second half of the year to be both substantially stronger than the first half and deliver year-over-year growth with respect to the second half of 2018."
GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2018 was $2.1 million, compared to $3.9 million net income reported for the same period in 2017. GAAP diluted loss per share for the second quarter of 2018 was $0.09, compared to diluted earnings per share of $0.17 a year ago. GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2017 included a tax benefit of approximately $1.8 million as a result of the successful conclusion of a tax audit.
Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2018 were $0.9 million and $0.04, respectively, compared to $6.3 million non-GAAP net income and $0.28 diluted earnings per share reported for the second quarter of 2017. Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2018 excluded: (a) equity-based compensation expense, net of taxes, of $2.7 million, and (b) the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles of $0.3 million associated with the acquisition of RivieraWaves and NB-IoT technologies. Net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2017 excluded: (a) equity-based compensation expense, net of taxes, of $2.1 million, and (b) the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles of $0.3 million associated with the acquisition of RivieraWaves.
During the quarter, CEVA completed nine license agreements. Four of the agreements were for CEVA DSP and AI platforms, including a third NeuPro AI license agreement, and five were for CEVA connectivity IPs. Eight of the agreements were for non-handset baseband applications and three were with first-time customers of CEVA. Customers' target markets for the licenses include advanced cameras, drones, smart speakers, smartphones, wireless headphones and IoT devices. Geographically, five of the deals signed were in China, one was in Europe and three were in the APAC region, including Japan.
Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA, stated: "Despite lower-than-expected royalty revenue for the second quarter, we were pleased to see continued progress in our non-handset baseband customers, who shipped a new record level of 88 million CEVA-powered devices. On buyback, we purchased approximately 270,000 shares of our common stock in the second quarter for an aggregate consideration of approximately $9 million. In addition, our Board of Directors approved the expansion of this plan during the quarter, and as of June 30th, we have a total of 700,000 shares of common stock available for repurchase. Moreover, CEVA's cash and cash equivalent balances, marketable securities and bank deposits were approximately $173 million at the end of the quarter."
Full Year 2018 Revenue Guidance and Commentary
As a result of the lower royalty revenue for the first half of 2018, the expectation of continued weakness with the Chinese handset baseband customer for the remainder of 2018, and the lack of visibility and uncertainty for the timing of resumption of royalties with the well-publicized ban of a Chinese base station customer, the company is lowering 2018 annual royalty guidance to a level representing a 10% decrease from 2017 royalty revenue. While it is encouraging that the base station customer has resumed operations, it's assumed, that it will take them a few months to rebuild their supply chain and to get back to full production and shipments. In light of the above and to be prudent, the company now projects total annual revenue to be approximately $80 million.
CEVA Conference Call
On August 07, 2018 CEVA management will conduct a conference call at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time to discuss the operating performance for the quarter.
