Amir Panush, Chief Executive Officer of Ceva, commented: "Our fourth quarter revenues were in line with our expectations, despite the challenges in the markets we served. I am proud of how we managed to significantly improve our profitability and earnings power through our focus on operating efficiency. Our royalty business grew for the third consecutive quarter and returned to year-over-year growth, driven by a recovery in mobile and strength across consumer IoT and industrial IoT end markets. Although our licensing revenue fell short of our expectations in the quarter, we continue to see myriad licensing opportunities for our diversified technology portfolio and expect to enhance our range of products as we push forward in developing new AI-related offerings."
Mr. Panush continued: "Looking back on my first year as CEO of Ceva, we have made significant progress in returning the Company to a pure IP licensing and royalty business model, where we see the greatest potential for success. We have established Ceva as the trusted partner for semiconductor companies and OEMs who need our IP to enable three fundamental use cases required by smart edge devices – the ability to connect, sense and infer data, more reliably and efficiently. Our wireless communications market leadership continues to go from strength to strength as illustrated by the 1.2 billion smart edge IoT devices and more than 280 million smartphones wirelessly connected by our IP in 2023 alone. In sense and inference, we have bolstered our product offerings during the year with the introduction of our NPU family for edge AI and through the acquisition of spatial audio software from VisiSonics. Overall, our leading-edge IP portfolio, combined with our focus on execution and delivering profitable growth, will position Ceva well to help our customers succeed and drive shareholder value."
Fourth Quarter 2023 Review
Total revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $24.2 million, a 20% decrease compared to $30.3 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2022. Licensing and related revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $11.8 million, compared to $19.4 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $12.3 million, an increase of 13% when compared to $10.9 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2022.
During the quarter, seventeen IP licensing agreements were concluded, targeting a wide range of end markets and applications, including Wi-Fi 6 for industrial IoT, consumer devices and access points, Bluetooth for IoT and medical-grade hearables, 5G RedCap and cellular IoT modems, audio for hearables and wearables, and AI for automotive ADAS. Two of the deals signed were with OEMs and three were first-time customers.
GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 91%, as compared to 89% in the fourth quarter of 2022. GAAP operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $2.8 million, as compared to a GAAP operating income of $1.0 million for the same period in 2022. GAAP net loss for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $8.1 million, as compared to a GAAP net income of $4.5 million reported for the same period in 2022. GAAP diluted loss per share for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $0.34, as compared to GAAP diluted income per share of $0.19 for the same period in 2022.
GAAP net profit including the discontinued operation for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $3.8 million, as compared to GAAP net income with the discontinued operation of $1.9 million for the same quarter last year. GAAP diluted income per share including the discontinued operation for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $0.16, as compared to GAAP diluted income per share with the discontinued operation of $0.08 for the same period in 2022.
Non-GAAP gross margin for the fourth quarter of 2023 was 92%, as compared to 90% for the same period in 2022. Non-GAAP operating income for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $1.9 million, as compared to Non-GAAP operating income of $6.8 million reported for the fourth quarter of 2022. Non-GAAP net income and diluted income per share for the fourth quarter of 2023 were $2.3 million and $0.10 , respectively, compared with Non-GAAP net income and diluted income per share of $7.0 million and $0.29 , respectively, reported for the fourth quarter of 2022.
