Gemalto, the world leader in digital security today announced its revenue for the full year and fourth quarter of 2008.
Total revenue for the fourth quarter 2008 was € 471 million, matching the strongest quarter the company
has ever reported. The previous quarterly revenue record for Gemalto was also € 471 million, in Q4’07.
Growth continued across segments and geographies, offsetting shortfalls in specific accounts related to
customers’ cash and inventory optimization efforts. Quarterly revenue was also similar to that in the prior
year at constant exchange rates, posting only a slight decrease of 2%.
For the full year, revenue was up 6% year-on-year at € 1 680 million. Excluding Public Telephony and
POS, the three main business segments combined grew by 8.1% for the full year. Total revenue from
software and services grew by 44% from last year, and now accounts for close to 10% of the company’s
total turnover. For the full year the company saw revenue growth in all regions. Product mix continued to
improve across all segments.
Mobile Communication revenue was essentially flat in the fourth quarter of 2008 at historical exchange
rates and decreased by 5% at constant rates, because of shortfalls in specific accounts in the Americas
and Asia.
Software and services revenues increased by 41% year-on-year in the fourth quarter and by 65% for the
full year to reach annual revenues of € 65 million. As mobile communications become the point of entry
to a new digital lifestyle for a growing segment of the population, Gemalto continues to innovate and
generate new opportunities for mobile operators. Our Allynis offer links mobile network operators closer
to their end-user subscribers. Applications such as SIM portal, mobile banking, roaming and personal
data management all create new revenue opportunities for our customers, strengthening Gemalto’s
unique positioning and elevating the level of our customers’ satisfaction.
Over the quarter the average SIM card selling price was down by 8% compared with the previous
quarter, and 15% year-on-year, reflecting a higher proportion of shipments to entry range accounts. For
the full year the average SIM card selling price decrease was contained to 8%.
In the last quarter, Gemalto commercially launched with Oi, the first quadri-play operator in Brazil, and in
partnership with Microsoft, a new SIM card that gives access to Windows Live Messenger services from
any mobile phone. This service provides to existing users continuous access to the service, and opens
up instant messaging services to the vast majority of mobile subscribers worldwide, who have no access
to a PC-connected Internet.
Secure Transactions growth was driven in the fourth quarter by contactless EMV rollouts in Europe and
a 23% improvement in personalization services revenue. Our production levels were lowered to
accommodate customers’ efforts to optimize cash and inventory. PayTV shipments were low this
quarter, partially offset by stronger activity in Transport. Overall fourth quarter revenue increased by 5%
on the previous year.
For the full year the segment revenue is up by 11%, with personalization services growing by 30%.
Contactless technology is an increasingly attractive opportunity for our customers and Gemalto grew
revenue by 50% with those new products as compared to last year.
Additionally, market dynamics are further strengthened by the recent decision of Visa and MasterCard to
require all EMV payment cards in Europe tobe upgraded with the latest DDA (Dynamic Data
Authentication) security technology by 2011.