Nordic Semiconductor — Earnings Release 2009

Feb 11, 2010

Nordic Semiconductor reports record order inflow in Fourth Quarter 2009

Nordic Semiconductor today announced its financial

results for the fourth quarter 2009. The company

reported strong growth in revenue and operating

profit, and a record high volume of order inflow.

Q4 2009 financial highlights include:

-- Total Revenue of MNOK 113.3 (MNOK 68.9)

-- Operating Profit (EBIT) of MNOK 19.1 (MNOK -6.4)

-- Order inflows of MNOK 193 (MNOK 21)

-- Cash Flow from Operations of MNOK 38.1 (MNOK 23.7)

-- Earnings per Share of NOK 0.41

"Nordic Semiconductor's order inflow accelerated in

the fourth quarter, as electronics manufacturers

worldwide released new products with Nordic's

wireless components and as the overall market

continued to improve," commented Svenn-Tore Larsen,

Chief Executive Officer. "Nordic's recent launch of

its LU1+ and LE1 OTP system-on-chip solutions

contributed to this growth by reducing the cost

barrier for vendors to adopt Nordic's 2.4 GHz

wireless technology in the most price sensitive

segment of the market."

Revenue growth

Group revenue in Q4 2009 was MNOK 113.3, an increase

of 64% from the prior year. The PC Peripherals

business segment grew by 174% during Q4 2009 to MNOK

67.7, and represented 60% of the company's total

revenues. The company notes that much of this revenue

increase was driven by the ongoing conversion of

wireless PC Peripherals vendors from older 27 MHz

radio frequency technology to Nordic's 2.4 GHz

components.

"Wireless PC peripherals manufacturers worldwide are

today adopting Nordic's 2.4GHz technology due to its

performance advantages and low energy requirements,"

explained Larsen. "Our system-on-chip solutions and

reference designs offer excellent value to vendors

looking to upgrade their products to the latest 2.4

GHz wireless solutions without the challenge and risk

of integrating components from multiple suppliers."

Operating profit and cash flow

Nordic Semiconductor's revenue growth resulted in a

strong improvement in profitability and cash flow

during Q4 2009. Nordic's operating profit (EBIT)

increased to MNOK 19.1 from a loss of MNOK 6.4 in Q4

2008. Nordic's Free Cash Flow increased to MNOK 35

in Q4 2009 from MNOK 21 in the prior year, despite an

income tax payment of MNOK 17 in Q4 2009 compared

with no taxes paid in the prior year.

"Nordic Semiconductor continues to demonstrate the

scalability of its business model, in which

manufacturing and direct distribution of standard

components are subcontracted to specialist partners,"

explained Robert Giori, Chief Financial

Officer. "For this reason, Nordic Semiconductor

managed to achieve high revenue growth in Q4 2009

while its operating expenses declined from the

previous year, resulting in a strong improvement in

operating profit and cash flow."

"Nordic Semiconductor finished 2009 with a cash

balance of MNOK 177 and no debt." continued

Giori. "With this solid financial basis for further

sustained growth, the company will propose a dividend

of NOK 2.00 per share for approval at its next

shareholders meeting."

Business Outlook

The company indicated a positive outlook for

continued growth in 2010 and beyond. "Due to rapid

growth in order inflow, Nordic Semiconductor finished

Q4 2009 with a record high order backlog of MNOK

190," explained Svenn-Tore Larsen. "This order

inflow contains longer order cycles than in previous

quarters, with delivery dates spread through the

first half of 2010."

"We believe that sales will continue to be strong for

the remainder of 2010, as leading electronics

manufacturers release new products with our wireless

components, and as the global economy recovers. We

also expect that there will be less seasonality in

2010 than in prior years, due to the fact that our

sales mix has shifted toward less seasonally-driven

sales within the PC peripherals segment and across

all international markets."

The company stated that rapid growth will require

additional investments in sales, distribution and R&D

resources. "In order to protect our leadership

position in the high growth market for ultra-low

power wireless solutions, we will maintain our

competitive advantages in technology and customer

support. To accomplish this, we aim to increase our

staff by an estimated 20% during 2010, across the

sales and R&D teams," continued Larsen.

Over the longer term, the company addressed numerous

growth opportunities. "Nordic's ultra-low power 2.4

GHz RF technology is well positioned to become the

preferred wireless solution within many emerging

product categories. Furthermore, we are confident

that the release of the Bluetooth Low Energy standard

will drive further market growth by opening mobile

phone handsets and other Bluetooth devices for

connectivity with low-energy wireless sensor and

monitoring devices."

"Nordic Semiconductor has taken an active role in

developing the Bluetooth Low Energy standard within

the Bluetooth SIG, and expects to be first-to-market

in the first half of 2010 with single-mode Bluetooth

Low Energy chipsets based on Nordic's existing 2.4

GHz platform," concluded Svenn-Tore Larsen.

A complete Q4 2009 financial report is attached

in .pdf format.

For more information, please contact:

Robert Giori, Chief Financial Officer. + 47 93409188

About Nordic Semiconductor:

Nordic Semiconductor ASA develops and sells

integrated circuits and related solutions for short-

range wireless communication. The company

specializes in ultra-low power (ULP) components,

based on its proprietary 2.4 GHz RF technology. All

manufacturing of components is outsourced to

specialist subcontractors. The company's operations

are managed according to an ISO 9001:2000-approved

quality assurance system.

The company is headquarted in Trondheim and Oslo,

Norway, with offices in the US, Hong Kong, Korea,

Japan, Taiwan and the Philippines. The company is

publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the

ticker NOD.