Gemalto Predicts ‘Double Digit’ Growth in IoT, Identity, Digital Security Businesses for 2018

After a disappointing first half, Gemalto’s year-end results for 2017 see the company back on track, and anticipating strong growth in its Internet of Things and digital ID and security activities.

Revenues for the year came in at €2.97 billion, compared to a little under €3.13 billion in 2016; and the company says its profit from operations for 2017 was €310 million, versus €453 million in 2016. Its profit margin, while down from 2016’s 14.5 percent, came in at a healthy 10.4 percent.

Commenting on the results, Gemalto CEO Philippe Vallée emphasized that in the second half of the year, his firm “finished on a stronger note”, compared to the first half of the year, in which the business suffered from a rapidly deteriorating removable SIM business and struggled with EMV demand in the US. Vallée said the second half of the year saw Gemalto benefit from “solid contributions from Enterprise, Machine-to-Machine and Government Programs”, and said that for the year ahead, “the strong demand in the Enterprise, Government and IoT markets is expected to continue,” with the company predicting double-digit growth in the latter area.

Similar growth is also expected in the areas of identity and cybersecurity, with Vallée asserting that biometrics, civil identity, and data security will be one of the “two pillars” of Gemalto’s strategy for 2018, with the other being the company’s “leadership in digitalization”.

Meanwhile, the company says that its acquisition by Thales remains “on track”, with Vallée predicting that Gemalto’s transformation into a Thales Global Business Unit “will accelerate the implementation of Gemalto’s strategy.”