FPC On Solid Footing After Challenging Year, Says CEO in Annual Report

Fingerprint Cards (FPC) has issued its Annual Report for 2018, detailing a difficult year that the company has nevertheless been able to navigate effectively.

In his commentary in the report, Fingerprints CEO Christian Fredrikson is upfront about the challenges the company has faced, noting that a 30 percent drop (compared to 2017) in the Average Selling Price for fingerprint sensors in the mobile market contributed to a significant dip in revenues. As a result, Fingerprints took drastic measures to reduce costs, including the reduction of its workforce from 415 to 220, and of its consultants from 143 to 43.

“Layoffs of this magnitude are never simple or painless, and I would like to say that I am impressed by the manner in which everyone here at Fingerprints has handled this difficult situation,” Fredrikson writes.

Despite those difficulties, Fingerprint Cards has come through in a strong position, Fredrikson suggests. It’s “still the leading provider in the smartphone segment,” and the emergence of in-display fingerprint sensors bodes will, with Fredrikson asserting that despite relatively small volumes at present, “I expect that in-display technology will account for a signficant share of the total value of the fingerprint sensor market for smartphones.”

Meanwhile, new application areas are presenting opportunities for Fingerprints’ expansion, including automotive biometrics and especially biometric smart cards – “the area in which I see the greatest potential in the coming years”, Fredrikson says. Fingerprint Cards technology was used in all 16 of last year’s publicly announced trials of contactless biometric payment cards, and Fredrikson says his firm “is well-positioned to capture a significant share of this emerging market.”

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April 30, 2019 – by Alex Perala