Revenue Grew 60+%

Business Wire

2016 Operating Results

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MicroVision, Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS), a leader in innovative ultra-miniature projection display and sensing technology, today announced its 2016 operating and financial results and an overview of its 2017 business objectives.

MicroVision achieved over 60 percent revenue growth with $14.8 million for the full year 2016 compared to $9.2 million the prior year. The 2016 full year revenue was consistent with the company’s guidance. The company also improved gross margin to 30 percent in 2016 compared to 22 percent in 2015.

In line with its technology advancement plans, the company invested in internal development of its PicoP® scanning technology for new “beyond projection” applications. MicroVision announced its plans to begin selling laser beam scanning (LBS) engines in 2017 based on 2016 research and development efforts. These scanning engines are targeted to a wide variety of OEM and ODM customers for multiple applications, and they are planned to consist of:

• PSE-0403: A small form factor, high definition display engine for applications where form factor and flexibility of product design are required;
• PSE-0403sti: An interactive display engine that integrates display and 3D sensing to allow the user to interact with projected images;
• PSE-0400Li: A mid-range light detection and ranging (LIDAR) engine for autonomous industrial products and robotics.

MicroVision began shipping samples of the small form factor display engine to potential customers in December 2016 and expects to be ready for mass production in the second quarter of 2017. The company also plans to begin providing engineering samples of the interactive display engine in the second quarter. In the third quarter of 2017 MicroVision plans to be ready for mass production of the interactive display engine. In the second half of 2017 MicroVision plans to begin shipping samples of the mid-range LIDAR engine, with mass production readiness for that engine targeted for the first half of 2018.

The company also contracted with two top technology companies for proof of concept demonstrators for augmented reality (AR) and advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) 3D sensing. Work on those contracts began in 2016 and is continuing in 2017.

In November 2016, MicroVision announced a co-marketing agreement with STMicroelectronics (ST) targeting the joint sales and promotion of MEMS mirror-based LBS solutions for applications such as pico projection, augmented and virtual reality, 3D sensing, and ADAS. MicroVision had demonstration systems in ST’s customer suites at CES 2017 in Las Vegas in January and on the show floor in ST’s booth at Mobile World Congress 2017 in Barcelona, February 27-March 2.

2016 Financial Results

MicroVision reported the following financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2016:

• Annual revenue of $14.8 million in 2016, compared to $9.2 million in 2015. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2016 was $2.9 million, compared to $1.8 million for the same quarter in 2015.
• Operating loss was $16.5 million for 2016, compared to $14.6 million in 2015, and $5.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to $4.3 million for the same quarter in 2015.
• Net loss for the year of $16.5 million, or $0.32 per share, compared to $14.5 million, or $0.31 per share for the prior year and $5.4 million, or $0.09 per share, compared to $4.3 million, or $0.09 per share, for the same quarter in 2015.
• Cash used in operations was $14.8 million in 2016, compared to $5.8 million for 2015 reflecting the $8 million up-front license fee received in early 2015.

As of December 31, 2016, backlog was $942,000 and cash and cash equivalents were $15.1 million.

2017 Objectives

MicroVision anticipates another year of significant growth in 2017. MicroVision anticipates revenue from its planned LBS engines line of business to be in the range of $30 million to $60 million in the 12 to 18 months following the shipment of the first mass production engines which is expected in Q2 2017. Revenue in 2017 from these products is expected to be weighted to the second half of the year.

According to a recent report from Juniper Research1, smart home hardware and service take-up in entertainment, automation, healthcare and connected devices is projected to drive revenues from $83 billion in 2017 to $195 billion by 2021. This growing market for smart home devices is an example of a new product category that MicroVision believes can benefit from its LBS engine line.

In January 2017, MicroVision delivered to a top technology company the augmented reality proof of concept demonstrator it began in 2016 and signed a second phase NRE contract for that program which the company expects to complete in 2017. MicroVision also expects to deliver the proof of concept demonstrator for ADAS in 2017 that it is developing for another major technology company.

The company also plans to support its existing customers who have licensed MicroVision technology and incorporate MicroVision components in their display engine products.

1 Smart Home Markets: Entertainment, Monitoring, Automation, Health, Metering, Appliances 2017-2021, Juniper Research, January, 2017