u-blox (SIX: UBXN), a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies, today announced that it has revised its guidance figures for 2018 with expected revenues of between CHF 400 and 410 million, with EBIT in the range of CHF 47 to 52 million, and EBITDA between CHF 70 to 75 million.

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In Asia, a slowdown in timing and shared devices as well as customers being impacted temporarily by the Sino-US trade tensions will result in lower revenues for 2018 than anticipated. Moving forward, however, u-blox is seeing a reversed trend in the second half year of 2018 with stronger progress in infrastructure, in-car navigation, and after-market car electronics. Furthermore u-blox has optimized its management structure in China and re-focused the sales team to cope with emerging application sectors.

In contrast to the turnaround situation in China, other regions continue to perform well. The Americas will profit from the deployments for LTE-M based cellular connectivity that already accelerated business in H2 2018, and we expect strong business in metering, medical devices, wearables, and renewed growth in the fleet management business.

In the EMEA region, the very strong growth in H1 2018 is continuing into 2019, driven by an expanded demand for connected devices destined for the Internet of Things in infrastructure and telematics, as well as an increasing demand from the automotive sector, stimulated by the need for in-vehicle connectivity.

Globally, for 2019 u-blox expects stronger growth, supported by significant client wins such as Bosch, Leica Geosystems, and Xirgo Technologies, and major megatrends are driving sustainable demand. For instance, the company sees mobility, urbanization, new health, and industry 4.0 accelerating the expansion of the Internet of Things as well as the need for seamless and secure lifetime connectivity from a trusted supplier. Also, progress in automated driving is increasing demand for safe and reliable connectivity and positioning technologies.

Our guidance for 2018 and 2019 is captured in the following table:

   
                Actual    Updated Guidance 2018    Guidance 2019
               FY 2017                   (IFRS)           (IFRS)
     Revenue    403.7m                400m.410m        460m.490m
      EBITDA     87.4m                  70m.75m          70m.90m
        EBIT     65.1m                 47m. 52m         30m. 45m
    Currency       CHF                      CHF              CHF

Exchange rate assumptions for 2019: EUR/CHF: 1.12, USD/CHF: 0.99, GBP/CHF: 1.27

Table 1: Guidance 2018 and 2019

For the mid-term, u-blox expects a significant expansion based on product initiatives preempting important megatrends in the industry. u-blox has invested in new platforms in all its technologies and will participate in market expansion driven by increasing mobility and expansion of cloud services. For 2022, u-blox sets the goal to achieve revenues between CHF 700 million and CHF 800 million, with free cash flow resulting in 7% to 10%, EBIT in 12% to 15%, and EBITDA in 22% to 25% of revenue.

   
    Revenue M CHF    Free Cash Flow %    EBIT %    EBITDA %
              700                  7%       12%         22%
              800                 10%       15%         25%

Table 2: Mid-term outlook 2022

Thomas Seiler, CEO of u-blox, commented: "We are seeing good return of growth in Asia. In recent months, we have been able to win major large companies as customers in all regions. They will have a positive impact on our business for years to come. In addition, we expect all regions to continually grow as a result of strong and broad-based measures to seek and create new sales opportunities, as our strategy continues to be profitably aligned with the world's significant megatrends. We are positive that we will continue to see a robust and growing business supporting our new guidance and our mid-term outlook with improving profitability."

About u-blox 

u-blox (SIX: UBXN) is a global provider of leading positioning and wireless communication technologies for the automotive, industrial, and consumer markets. Their solutions let people, vehicles, and machines determine their precise position and communicate wirelessly over cellular and short range networks. With a broad portfolio of chips, modules, and a growing ecosystem of products supporting data services, u-blox is uniquely positioned to empower its customers to develop innovative solutions for the Internet of Things, quickly and cost-effectively. With headquarters in Thalwil, Switzerland, the company is globally present with offices in Europe, Asia, and the USA.

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Disclaimer
This release contains certain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the u-blox Group to differ materially from those expressed or implied. These include risks related to the success of and demand for the Group's products, the potential for the Group's products to become obsolete, the Group's ability to defend its intellectual property, the Group's ability to develop and commercialize new products in a timely manner, the dynamic and competitive environment in which the Group operates, the regulatory environment, changes in currency exchange rates, the Group's ability to generate revenues and profitability, and the Group's ability to realize its expansion projects in a timely manner. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this report. u-blox is providing the information in this release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in it as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Financial calendar
Analyst day: November 21, 2018
2018 full year results: March 15, 2019
Annual general meeting: April 25, 2019

u-blox contact:
Gitte Jensen
Investor Relations
Phone +41-44-722-7486
Email Contact

u-blox AG
Zürcherstrasse 68
8800 Thalwil
Switzerland
Phone +41-44-722-74-44
Fax +41-44-722-74-47
Email Contact
http://www.u-blox.com

SOURCE u-blox