Seoul, South Korea –August 05, 2021 – Chips & Media, which focuses on video codecs, computer vision (super-resolution), and semiconductor hardware intellectual property (IP) reported the 2021 performance today.
Chips&Media’s business activities, which earn 95% of its total earnings from exports, were restricted and limited in the first quarter of last year due to the outbreak of COVID-19. The two major sources of income for Chips&Media are the license received when supplying IPs to semiconductor companies, along with royalties received when making and selling semiconductors made using the IPs. The sales fell to 4% YoY, and operating profit decreased 34% YoY in 2020, as many of the licensing contracts that were originally scheduled to be signed have been delayed.
However, the economic mood has completely reversed this year. China, one of the two pillars of business performance along with the United States, has quickly emerged from the impact of COVID-19. Therefore, the license opportunities increased in the second half of the last year as the IP camera and server industries have grown. Of Chips&Media's previous year's earnings, the US and China accounted for 39.4% and 36.5%, respectively.
In addition, Chips&Media made multiple license agreements with world-famous companies in automotive semiconductor companies and IT platform companies. Chips&Media is forecasting this year's earnings to increase by double digits compared to the previous year as the development demand is expected to recover.