- Sequential royalty revenue growth of 27%, attributable to recovery in handset baseband

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 8, 2019 — (PRNewswire) —  CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the leading licensor of wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies, today announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2019.

Total revenue for the second quarter of 2019 was $18.4 million, a 5% increase compared to $17.5 million reported for the second quarter of 2018. Second quarter 2019 licensing and related revenue was $10.8 million, an increase of 8% when compared to $10.0 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the second quarter of 2019 was $7.6 million, a 2% increase compared to $7.5 million reported for the second quarter of 2018.

Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA, stated: "I am very pleased with our performance in the second quarter. We continued to expand our licensee base and diversify our revenue sources, capitalizing on our excellence in wireless connectivity and smart sensing technologies. In royalties, our handset baseband shipments showed pronounced sequential growth following a period of market softness and excess inventories. Our non-handset baseband royalties continue to show solid growth, driven by base station RAN and Bluetooth."

Mr. Wertheizer continued: "Our recent acquisition of the Hillcrest Labs business and the technology investment we made in Immervision, Inc. will enable us to further expand our product offerings and customer reach. These investments are important landmarks in our strategic plan to broaden our technology portfolio, while also allowing us to move up the value chain and create tighter relationships with semiconductor companies and OEMs."

Of the nine license agreements completed during the quarter, three were for smart sensing products and six were for connectivity products. All of the licensing agreements signed during the quarter were for non-handset baseband applications and four were with first-time customers of CEVA. Customers' target markets include cellular IoT, sound and Bluetooth for wireless earbuds, AI and computer vision for consumer and surveillance products, and Wi-Fi access points. Geographically, three of the deals signed were in China, two were in the U.S. and four were in the APAC region, including Japan.

GAAP net loss for the second quarter of 2019 was $1.5 million, 28% lower than net loss of $2.1 million reported for the same period in 2018. GAAP diluted loss per share for the second quarter of 2019 was $0.07, compared to diluted loss per share of $0.09 a year ago.

Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2019 were $1.2 million and $0.05, respectively, up 42% and 25%, respectively, from the $0.9 million and $0.04 reported for both income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2018. Non-GAAP net income and diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2019 excluded: (a) equity-based compensation expense, net of taxes, of $2.5 million, (b) the impact of the amortization of acquired intangibles of $0.3 million associated with the acquisition of RivieraWaves and an investment in NB-IoT technologies. 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. 

Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer of CEVA, stated: "We are encouraged by the sequential increase of 27% in our royalty revenue, reflecting an uptick in handset inventory build up in advance of the high season. Also, second quarter non-GAAP net income and non-GAAP fully diluted earnings per share showed year-over-year growth for the first time in five quarters. We continued our buyback plan, repurchasing approximately $2.3 million of our common stock under our existing share repurchase program. At the end of the quarter, our cash balance, marketable securities and bank deposits totaled $166 million, with no debt."

CEVA Conference Call
On August 8, 2019 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 1-844-435-0316 (Access Code: CEVA)
• International Participants: Dial +1-412-317-6365 (Access Code: CEVA)

The conference call will also be available live via webcast at the following link: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/984/31019. 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: 10133150) from one hour after the end of the call until 9:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on August 15, 2019. The replay will also be available at CEVA's web site www.ceva-dsp.com.

Forward Looking Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions that if they materialize or prove incorrect, could cause the results of CEVA to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions.  Forward-looking statements include Mr. Wertheizer's statements that CEVA's licensee base and revenue sources continue to expand, handset baseband shipments showed pronounced sequential growth, non-handset baseband royalties continue to show solid growth and the recent acquisition of the Hillcrest Labs business and the technology investment in Immervision will enable the company to further expand its product offerings and customer reach, thereby allowing the company to move up the value chain and create tighter relationships with semiconductor companies and OEMs.  The risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause differing CEVA results  include: the ability of the CEVA DSP cores and other technologies to continue to be strong growth drivers for us; CEVA's ability to successfully integrate Hillcrest Labs' operations and realize the expected synergies; CEVA's ability to successfully leverage Immervision's technology to increase CEVA's customer base and product offerings, as well as other expectations with respect to the strategic partnership, our continued success in penetrating new markets, including in non-baseband markets, and maintaining our market position in existing markets; our ability to diversify the company's royalty streams, the ability of products incorporating our technologies to achieve market acceptance, the speed and extent of the expansion of the 4G, 5G and LTE networks, the maturation of the autonomous driving and IoT markets, the effect of trade tariffs and political tensions, the effect of intense industry competition and consolidation, including the effect of Apple's announced acquisition of a majority of Intel's smartphone modem business, global chip market trends, the possibility that markets for CEVA's technologies may not develop as expected or that products incorporating our technologies do not achieve market acceptance; our ability to timely and successfully develop and introduce new technologies; and general market conditions and other risks relating to our business, including, but not limited to, those that are described from time to time in our SEC filings.  CEVA assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements or information, which speak as of their respective dates.