For the first time in four years, first-quarter wireless sales for smart card maker Gemplus showed sequential growth.
In a statement released today, the company said wireless shipments rose 2.1 percent quarter-on-quarter for the period ended Mar. 31. The growth was largely driven by Asia, helped by regional seasonality.
After adjusting figures for currency, revenue from wireless products and services was up 70.8 percent year-on-year to 127.2 million euros (US$150.6 million), stated the release. This includes wireless microprocessor cards and related applications (embedded software and over-the-air platforms), as well as system integration and operated services.
The results reflected strong demand in China where wireless shipments grew 68.9 percent year-on-year to 59.7 million units, said the company.
In terms of the group's overall geographical performance, Asia revenue was up 57.2 percent, while the Americas and EMEA (Europe-Middle-East-Africa) grew 90.8 percent and 12.8 percent respectively.
Operating profit before restructuring improved by 3 million euros (US$3.5 million) compared with the fourth quarter last year and by 32.1 million euros (US$37.9 million) compared with the first quarter 2003.
In the banking and retail segment, revenue was driven by migration from magnetic stripe to the EMV (Europay-MasterCard-Visa) standard. Payment microprocessor card shipments rose 125 percent year-on-year and 11 percent quarter-on-quarter.
Several banks in countries such as the UK, France, Turkey, and Malaysia, rolled out EMV cards in the quarter under review.
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