Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 - GTO), the world leader in digital security today announced its revenue for the first quarter of 2009.

  First quarter 2009 revenue and year-on-year revenue variation, by segment:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Mobile Communication   Secure Transactions   Security   Total three main segments   Others(1)   Total Gemalto Q1 2009   Total Gemalto Q1 2008   First quarter                          192 M?                 100 M?                60 M?      351 M?                      16 M?       367 M?                  388 M?                  Variation at constant exchange rates   (19%)                  + 1%                  + 26%      (8%)                        0%          (8%)                                            At historical exchange rates, Gemalto 2009 first quarter total revenue is down 5%.                                                                                                      -------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

Olivier Piou, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Revenue for this quarter, though lower than Q1 2008, was in line with our expectation of a return to the traditional seasonality pattern.Strong progress continues to be made in securing new contracts for mobile services and contactless payment devices. Government Programs benefits from both a solid backlog and increasing momentum in national e-ID programs. We are pleased with our success in leveraging our operational efficiencies."

First quarter 2009

Total revenue for the Q1 2009 was € 367 million, lower than Q1 2008 by 8% at constant exchange rates and by 5% at historical exchange rates. Compared to a particularly strong first quarter last year Mobile Communication reported lower revenue, while Secure Transactions turnover was essentially unchanged. Government Programs continued to expand rapidly, with new national e-ID programs on the rise. Revenue from software and services increased from 8% of total revenue in Q1 2008 to 10% in Q1 2009. Net cash position further strengthened during this quarter.

Segment information

Mobile Communication

  ? in millions                                       Q1 2008   Q1 2009   Mobile Communication                                223       192       Year-on-year variation at constant exchange rates             (19%)     At historical exchange rates, Q1 2009 revenue is lower by 14%.           -------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

At €192million first quarter 2009 Mobile Communication revenue was lower than the very strong first quarter of 2008 by 19% at constant exchange rates and by 14% at historical exchange rates, in line with seasonality expectations for 2009.

The average SIM card selling price was lower by 17% year-on-year at constant exchange rates, again compared with a strong performance in the prior year. This reflects large shipments of entry-range products in South Asia and lower activity in the high end North Asia markets. Sequentially, i.e. compared to the fourth quarter of 2008, SIM card average selling price declined by 6%.

Software and services revenue increased by 16% year-on-year, with excellent performance in Asia and the Americas. Gemalto is gaining momentum in securing new contracts for operated services with mobile operators: by the end of Q1 it had already surpassed the number of contracts signed during the full year 2008. The wide range of new applications and service contracts secured during this quarter included among others launching the SIMessenger solution for Personal Argentina, as well as the mobile TV monitoring solution for Médiamétrie in France. Gemalto also continues to strengthen its service offerings through collaborations with partners. These included India-based mCheck for mobile payment, and Option of Belgium for the remote device management of Internet modems deployed to provide 3G data access.

Secure Transactions

  ? in millions                                       Q1 2008   Q1 2009   Secure Transactions                                 101       100       Year-on-year variation at constant exchange rates             + 1%      At historical exchange rates, Q1 2009 revenue is lower by 1%.            -------------------------------------------------------------------------------  

At € 100 million first quarter 2009 Secure Transactions revenue was essentially unchanged from last year. Compared to Q1 2008, it is down 1% at historical exchange rates and up 1% at constant rates.

Growth continues to be supported by deployment of dual-interface contactless EMV cards particularly in Europe and the Americas, and by further improvements in the level of personalization services, while inventory optimization was observed at some payment card customers. Lower Pay-TV shipments were partially offset by a stronger activity in Transport.

Gemalto announced several new commercial successes during the quarter, securing a number of new EMV migration opportunities, including an alliance with Corporacíon Cardtech to address the Venezuelan market, as well as Royal Bank of Scotland's EMV launch in Indonesia, India and Taiwan.