Xperi Says Q2 Billings Dropped in Mobile, Automotive, Home Segments

Xperi’s HD Radio licensing billings in Q2 weren't enough to offset declines in game consoles, Blu-ray players and PCs, said CEO Jon Kirchner on a Wednesday earnings call. The Cadillac XT4, Jeep Wrangler, Jaguar I-Pace and Subaru Ascent will launch with HD Radio technology in the quarter, he said, but total product licensing billings for the DTS parent were $100.7 million, down from $107.3 million last year, he said. A “sizable” non-recurring engineering payment in the company’s automotive business didn’t recur in 2018, he said, saying billings declined 5 percent to $20.8 million. Mobile billings dropped 13 percent to $9 million, on soft PC-related sales of legacy audio products, Kirchner said, and home segment billings slipped slightly to $19.2 million on Blu-ray-related sluggishness. The company announced Wednesday DTS Connected Radio will launch from a major automotive partner in 2019. Xperi is “actively engaged” with other car companies about the system that delivers analog AM/FM and digital DAB and HD Radio by pairing broadcast programming with IP-delivered content. DTS Connected Radio aggregates metadata, including information about on-air radio program and talent, station and artist and song directly from global broadcasters for an “enhanced in-vehicle radio experience,” it said. Xperi will continue to work with mobile partners on immersive audio and imaging solutions for higher-end smartphones and gaming headsets, and the Vivo Nex phone launched in June with the latest version of Headphone:X, Kirchner said. In facial recognition, Xperi is working to advance its “sensor-agnostic” 3D facial recognition solution to capture what it sees as a large addressable market and facilitate adoption, Kirchner said. Products are due in Q1 from at least one partner, he said. In artificial and virtual reality, Xperi has an opportunity via imaging biometrics and audio processing, Kirchner said. The CEO projected a 12-14 percent compound annual growth rate in its product licensing business through 2022 but cautioned that due to the way ecosystems develop, growth will be “nonlinear." He referenced new solutions expected to ship in mobile and automotive markets in 2020 and beyond. For Q3, the company projects billings of $97 million-$102 million. Shares closed 2.4 percent higher Thursday at $16.70.