EINDHOVEN, The Netherlands, Feb. 01, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016. 

“NXP delivered better than historical seasonal results for the fourth quarter of 2016, with revenue of $2.44 billion, an increase of 52 percent year on year, and a decline of one percent versus the prior quarter, in-line with the mid-point of our guidance.  Our full-year revenue was $9.5 billion, up 56 percent versus our results in 2015,” said Richard Clemmer, NXP Chief Executive Officer.

“Our fourth quarter performance marked an important milestone in the resumption of our annual growth trajectory. Fourth quarter HPMS segment revenue was $2.06 billion, an increase of 58 percent year on year and a decline of two percent sequentially.  Fourth quarter Standard Products segment revenue was $323 million, up 19 percent year on year, and up one percent sequentially.  On a full-year basis, HPMS revenue was $8.09 billion, up 71 percent from 2015 and Standard Products revenue was $1.22 billion, down two percent versus the same period a year ago.”

“When comparing revenue in the fourth quarter of 2016 with non-GAAP combined adjusted revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015, the HPMS segment was up 11 percent in fourth quarter versus the same period in 2015.  Within the Automotive group, our fourth quarter revenue was $863 million, up 17 percent year on year due to strong demand for our automotive microcontroller and advanced analog products.  Within the Secure Connected Devices group, our fourth quarter revenue was $569 million, up 10 percent year on year as all major product lines contributed to a seasonally solid quarter.  In the Secure Interface and Infrastructure group, our fourth quarter revenue was $483 million up 29 percent year on year, as we experienced very strong growth in our interface and RF Power group, offset by previously communicated headwinds in the Digital Networking group, which we believe has now established a solid foundation.  It is important to note, the year-on-year revenue growth in our RF Power group was against a significant trough level in the fourth quarter of 2015.  Lastly, in our Secure Identification Solutions group, our fourth quarter revenue was $147 million, down 35 percent versus the same period a year ago, due to a combination of lower overall market demand and aggressive ASP compression.”

“In summary, we view our recent revenue performance as a positive indication that the Freescale and NXP integration continues to progress very well, and is ahead of schedule as our go-to-market and portfolio decisions are well aligned with our customer’s long-term requirements.  Design win activity has strengthened and is broadly robust, though we continue to fine tune our go-to-market efforts in certain geographic markets.”

“Finally, 2016 was a year of significant highlights for NXP.  We began the year on our journey to successfully integrate Freescale and NXP, both very successful and strong companies prior to the merger, with the opportunity to combine the portfolios and focus on solutions for our expanded customer base, while driving significant cost synergies to enhance market reach and profitability.  In June, we announced the divestment of our Standard Products business, the premier discrete and logic supplier, soon to be known as Nexperia, to JAC Capital and Wise Road Capital.  The divestment has achieved all needed regulatory approvals, the disentanglement process is going very well and the final close is expected during the first quarter of 2017.  We wish Frans Scheper and the entire Nexperia team all possible success as an independent company with an improved opportunity to invest for growth beyond what NXP had constrained.   And finally, in October we announced the agreement to be acquired by Qualcomm, creating a technology leader in the strategic and high growth markets of automotive, IoT, security and networking.  The combined company will have broad market reach, very strong partnerships with a diverse customer base and all of the ingredients to create the industry powerhouse,” said Clemmer. 

“Due to the disciplined and focused execution by the entire NXP team, we were able to drive exceptionally strong financial results throughout 2016.  In the fourth quarter our GAAP operating margin was 7.1 percent, and for the full-year, GAAP operating margin was a loss of 1.6 percent. Throughout 2016, NXP’s GAAP operating margin was impacted by merger related accounting expenses associated with the Freescale merger.  Our fourth quarter non-GAAP operating margin was 29.3 percent, representing a 600 basis points improvement compared to our first quarter of 2016 and 130 basis points better sequentially.  Notwithstanding the challenging top-line environment we navigated throughout the year, our non-GAAP operating margin was 26.6 percent.  In total, NXP has delivered non-GAAP operating margin improvement far in-excess of the original targets we set at the time the merger with Freescale was announced in March 2015, and significantly better than the targets we laid out at our Analyst Day in April 2016,” said Dan Durn, NXP Chief Financial Officer.

“In summary, I am very pleased with the progress we have made on our journey over the last 12 months.  Our teams are driving high-impact outcomes relative to the ongoing merger integration, they are continuously focused on the delivery of identified synergy opportunities, and as a result we are creating significant value for all our stakeholders,” said Durn.

Summary of Reported Fourth Quarter and Full-year 2016 Results ($ millions, unaudited)