Biometric firm Fingerprint Cards will supply sensors for Qualcomm products

Fingerprint Cards has struck a deal to supply sensors for several **Qualcomm** products, the Swedish biometric firm said on Friday, boosting its shares despite reporting disappointing second quarter earnings.

The fingerprint sensor maker said its technology would be included in low and mid-tier **Snapdragon** mobile platforms from Qualcomm, the largest maker of chips used in smartphones, which analysts said could lead to higher volumes. “We have continued to secure important orders which will result in increasing market shares with some major customers,” CEO Christian Fredrikson said in a statement. The company still expects to have a total market share of around 50 percent this year, Fredrikson told Reuters.

It reported second-quarter operating profit fell to 72 million Swedish crowns ($8.75 million) from 710 million a year, earlier. That was well below the 155 million expected by analysts in a Reuters poll. Its gross margin, excluding provisions for an obsolescence reserve, remained at 42 percent, while cashflow from operating activities was stable at around 500 million crowns. Three profit warnings from the company since the end of 2016 as well as sector oversupply have weighed on the stock. The shares, down almost 50 percent this year, were up almost 10 percent at 34.95 crowns at 0835 GMT on Friday, following the Qualcomm announcement.

Fingerprint has been one of the most shorted Swedish stocks in recent months, FSA data showed. It scrapped its full-year guidance in March after warning first-quarter revenue would fall by more than 50 percent due to weakened demand and higher inventories. Its customers are mainly Chinese smartphone makers such as Huawei and Oppo.

The company made its big breakthrough in 2015 as demand for fingerprint sensors in smartphones and tablets soared, sending its share price up by around 1,600 percent. It shed half its value last year.

Reuters