Wireless chips for the Internet of Things: Nordic Semiconductor lifts sales by a third
The Norwegian chip designer reported quarterly revenue of $235.5 million and a sharply higher operating profit. It expects slightly less in the final quarter.
Symbolic image · Photo: Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Norwegian chip designer Nordic Semiconductor posted strong growth in the third quarter. Revenue rose to $235.5 million from $179 million a year earlier, an increase of about 32%. Gross profit was $124.4 million, and operating profit (EBIT) grew from $4.4 million to $27.3 million. Nordic specialises in low-power wireless chips, for example for Bluetooth Low Energy, used in connected devices such as sensors, wearables, medical devices and smart-home products.
For the fourth quarter, the company forecast revenue of $215 million to $235 million, with a gross margin above 50%. That means Nordic expects flat to slightly lower sales at year-end compared with the third quarter. The figures came on a day when semiconductor stocks worldwide were under pressure after a supply-bottleneck warning from US equipment maker Lam Research.