Nordic Semiconductor

Earnings Release • Apr 20, 2021

NOD: First Quarter 2021 Results

NOD: First Quarter 2021 Results

(Oslo, Norway – April 20, 2021) Nordic Semiconductor ASA reported revenue of USD 143.2 million for the first quarter 2021, an increase of 104% from the same quarter last year. Bluetooth revenue increased by 134% to USD 119.8 million. Gross margin was 50.2%, compared to 51.9% in the first quarter 2020 and within the guiding range. EBITDA of USD 24.9 million reflects high growth and operational leverage generating an EBITDA- improvement to 17.4% from 7.5% in the first quarter 2020. Order backlog increased sharply to USD 803 million, with continued strong demand growth across all end-user markets from both tier-1 customers and the broad market. As previously communicated, supply constraints in the semiconductor value chain limits the company from taking full advantage of the demand growth in 2021.

"Demand remains strong in all our end-user segments, as wireless connectivity finds its way into new applications in a wide variety of industries and sectors. We are receiving high-volume orders from an increasing number of tier-1 customers and remain market leaders in the broad market", says CEO Svenn-Tore Larsen in Nordic Semiconductor.

"Global demand exceeds the current wafer supply capacity in the semiconductor market. We are laser-focused on helping our customers in this situation and are working both to secure more wafers and shorten the lead times to help them get their products to the market. Several wafer suppliers are now planning for significant capacity increases to resolve the situation and meet the continued high demand expected in the years to come", says Larsen.

As stated in the interim report for the fourth quarter 2020, Nordic has been allocated wafer deliveries allowing the company to increase production by a minimum of 25% from 2020 to 2021. The wafer shortage was expected to have the largest impact in the second quarter 2021. Nordic has however managed to shift some wafer volumes from the third quarter 2021 to the second quarter 2021, which allows the company to guide for a revenue level of USD 140-150 million for the second quarter 2021.

The gross margin is expected to remain within the 50%-51% range in the second quarter, and the company reiterates that that the higher share of sales to tier-1 customers is expected to move gross margins for the short-range business into the 48%-50% range in the medium term.

In 2019, Nordic presented a bold aspiration to build a USD 1 billion company within five years, and the strong demand and increasing customer base continues to support this aspiration.

The management team will host a webcast presenting the fourth quarter results today at 08:00 CEST. The presentation will be held in English. A live webcast from the presentation can be found at https://www.nordicsemi.com, and a recorded version of the presentation will also be available after the event.

At the end of the presentation, it will be possible for participants to ask questions directly to the management team via the webcast.

For further information, please contact:

Pål Elstad, CFO Nordic Semiconductor ASA

Phone: +47 991 66 293

Ståle Ytterdal, SVP – IR &Strategic Sales Nordic Semiconductor ASA

Phone: +47 930 37 430

About Nordic Semiconductor:

Nordic Semiconductor has been a pioneer in ultra- low power wireless solutions, from proprietary technologies for PC accessories to today’s Bluetooth low energy and multiprotocol products and long-range cellular IoT solutions. Nordic Semiconductor is the clear market leader in the ultra-low power wireless segment, serving a growing market in consumer electronics, wearables, building and retail, healthcare and an increasing number of other verticals and applications. Nordic Semiconductor (NOD) is a public company listed on the Oslo stock exchange in Norway.

For more information go to www.nordicsemi.com

This information is subject to the disclosure requirements according to §5-12 in the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.