Sivers Semiconductors

The company continued to return very strong growth and won several important new orders in the third quarter. Sales grew by 107 percent to SEK 58.3 million, which means that we are on route to our goal of net sales growth of minimum 100 percent for the full year 2023. Sales totaled SEK 162.5 M for the first nine months of the year, corresponding to growth of 96%.

Third quarter July-September 2023

• Net sales amounted to SEK 58.291 M (28.212), equivalent to an increase of 107%. Net sales increased by 89% at constant currency.
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled SEK –12.531 M (–23.079).
• Profit/loss before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -11.539 M (-26.607).
• Operating profit/loss (EBIT) was SEK -37.993 M (-51.887).
• Profit/loss after tax amounted to SEK -40.885 M (-45.156).
• Earnings per share before and after dilution was SEK -0.17 (-0.21).
• Equity per share amounted to SEK 5.54 (5.86).

January-September 2023

• Net sales amounted to SEK 162.452 M (82.836), equivalent to an increase of 96%. Net sales increased by 85% at constant currency.
• Adjusted EBITDA totaled SEK –40.859 M (–58.333).
• Profit/loss before depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to SEK -47.169 M (-57.580).
• Operating profit/loss (EBIT) was SEK -124.839 M (-143.253).
• Profit/loss after tax amounted to SEK -111.003 M (-124.537).
• Earnings per share before and after dilution was SEK -0.48 (-0.60).
• Equity per share amounted to SEK 5.54 (5.86).

Significant events in the second quarter
August 23 - Sivers Wireless receives second-round of prototype orders from Tier-1 5G infrastructure vendor
August 21 - Sivers Wireless won a USD 5 M (SEK 54.5 M) volume production order from its leading European SATCOM customer.
August 15 - Sivers Semiconductors recruited Dr. Bami Bastani as a strategic advisor to the Board and management.
August 14 - Sivers Wireless won a USD 0.425 M (SEK 4.6 M) contract from a top-tier SATCOM network provider.
August 9 - The company was awarded USD 0.375 M (approx. SEK 4 M) by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
July 3 - New order of USD 1 M (approx. SEK 11 M) from Ayar Labsvfor the development of next generation laser-array chip supporting applications such as High Performance Computing (HPC), Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML).

Significant events after the end of the period
No significant events. 

Key Performance Indicators

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CEO’s Statement

Continued strong growth and order book - confirms 100 % growth target

The company continued to return very strong growth and won several important new orders in the third quarter. Sales grew by 107 percent to SEK 58.3 million, which means that we are on route to our goal of net sales growth of minimum 100 percent for the full year 2023. Sales totaled SEK 162.5 M for the first nine months of the year, corresponding to growth of 96%.

The strong sales are a result of solid growth within both of our business units, where Photonics and Wireless increased by 38 and 210 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. The growth per segment during the first 9 months corresponds to 33 and 193 percent, respectively, compared to the same period last year. During the last rolling twelve months, Sivers has reported new orders of SEK 330 million and turnover of SEK 212 million, which corresponds to a growth of 100%.

Third quarter EBITDA was SEK -11.5 M (-26.6), an improvement of SEK 15.1 M. Adjusted for items affecting comparability, EBITDA was SEK 12.5 M (-23.1) in the third quarter, an improvement of SEK 10.6 M. Given continued good cost control, we expect to accelerate the journey towards profitability. Strong growth and effective cost control mean that we are confident for reaching our goal of positive adjusted EBITDA in the second half of 2023.

In the quarter, Sivers Wireless received a key volume production order from our leading European SATCOM customer of USD 5 M (approx. SEK 55 M), which is now starting to scale up production. Despite currently small-scale production, this generates substantial income for Sivers as early as in the fourth quarter 2023 and the first quarter of 2024. We expect production to continue to be scaled up during 2024 and beyond, ensuring strong growth for Sivers for many years to come. From 2024 onwards, our current customers in this segment have provided us with non-binding forecasts for the next 12 quarters which confirm the strong growth we see ahead of us.

Sivers Photonics also secured a key order in the quarter from Ayar Labs, totaling some USD 1 M (SEK 11 M). This order for the qualification of volume production of our unique laser arrays confirmed our position as a key supplier in one of the largest future growth areas; generative artificial intelligence (AI). Existing electrical-based communication between processors currently provides insufficient capacity for the enormous data volumes required by the generative AI of tomorrow. Our partner Ayar Labs offers a solution to this problem and Sivers supplies the laser chip for this market.

Optical communication increases the speed and capacity for processors incrementally, while energy consumption can be reduced by up to 90%. The performance we are jointly able to offer is necessary for next generation AI and advanced machine learning. This important topic was discussed during the quarter, including in an article in the Wall Street Journal where Sivers contributed. In the longer term, we foresee enormous market potential in optical high speed communication, and are currently working alongside several operators in this area.

We are continuing to work alongside our first US Fortune 100 customer and are eagerly awaiting the results of the more extensive tests the customer is carrying out on the chip we sent late in the second quarter. The two RFPs (Request for Proposal) we responded to in the year regarding transmitter and receiver chips include different volume scenarios. A possible design-in regarding these RFPs indicated volume that starts at several hundred million SEK per year up to several billion SEK per year, depending on the type and number of these consumer products for which this solution will be used. We have not ruled out an extension of or new construction of a proprietary production plant, although we consider there is considerable flexibility associated with outsourcing, both in terms of lead times and a significantly reduced investment requirement. We term this hybrid fabless. By siting production both at our own production plant and through outsourcing, we are able to minimize the capital requirement while simultaneously retaining margins. We expect to present further information regarding this in connection with the planned capital markets day on November 21.

The market for 5G mmwave has shifted but is more than compensated by other verticals, such as SatCom and photonics.. So far, 5G mmwave has been most successful in a few niche areas, and although we see great opportunities with the latest prototype order from the Tier-1 customer, this market has not fully matured yet, despite this, we stand very strong as a company and our strategy is timely with several megatrends now accelerating. We foresee very strong continued organic growth. In addition, over the past year we have further rationalized costs. Thanks to strong growth generating profitability, plus the new share issue and loan financing secured last spring, we have covered our capital requirement and are looking to the future with great confidence. Our strong, broad customer portfolio benefits from several megatrends and our innovative, competitive products mean that we are in a unique and excellent position. I look forward to our continued success in 2023.

Anders Storm, President and CEO

For more information please contact:
Anders Storm, President and CEO
Tel: +46(0) 702 62 63 90
Email: anders.storm@sivers-semiconductors.com

This disclosure contains information that Sivers Semiconductors is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014). The information was submitted for publication, through the contact person set out above on 26 October, 2023 at 08:00 CET.