Q4 Profit for Tobii as Cuts and Refocus Continue

Eye tracking hardware and attention computing firm Tobii has reported full year 2024 net sales of SEK 857m ($US 78.3m), representing a 13% increase but a decline in organic terms of 16%. Over twelve months the firm made another substantial loss - adjusted EBIT was SEK -73m - but in the 4th quarter it made a profit (SEK 74m).

Headquartered in Sweden and listed on Nasdaq Stockholm, Tobii creates technology for companies, universities and research institutes, for applications in healthcare, education and training, gaming, extended reality and automotive. In December 2023 the firm announced a radical refocusing of its business with the acquisition of vehicle interior sensing firm AutoSense, adding c.250 full-time staff to the company and forming a new business or 'segment' within the Tobii Group.

The firm says its cost reduction program, which includes shedding around a third of the 900 people it employed in Q1 of 2024, is on track to deliver SEK 200m in savings, of which SEK 73m were achieved by year-end. 2024 full year loss was much smaller than the previous year: (2023 SEK -184m), and Tobii says it will continue to implement additional cost reduction measures throughout 2025.

CEO Anand Srivatsa says the firm 'closed the year with progress on its 2024 objectives: making strides toward profitability and largely completing the integration of Autosense'. He adds: 'In the fourth quarter, Tobii delivered SEK 50 million in EBIT, with both the Products & Solutions and Integrations segments achieving profitability'.

Srivatsa says organic sales performance in both the Products & Solutions and Integrations segments was 'disappointing', whereas the Autosense segment's sales reached the upper level of the range forecast for the year, as the integration continues and more car manufacturers are signed up as partners. 'By year-end' says Srivatsa, 'over 600,000 vehicles on the road use Tobii's interior sensing solutions, and the client list now includes 12 OEM brands with over 150 vehicle models'.

The company has completed a strategic review of its product portfolio and Srivatsa says: 'we are engaged to divest certain product areas to improve our cash position. We expect these initiatives and progress to create a more streamlined and focused company with predictable profitability'.

Tobii is online at www.tobii.com .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.