With the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) passing the certification of the Energous midfield WattUp® transmitter reference design, it continues to accelerate the implementation of a complete WattUp® IC product roadmap.
Dr. Jalal Bagherli, CEO of Dialog Semiconductor stated: “Our robust financial performance is reflected in our 2017 annual results. We achieved double-digit revenue growth in 2017, increased our basic profitability, and distributed cash dividends to shareholders. In accordance with our strategic goals, in 2017 we combined our natural product growth and acquisitions to expand our product portfolio and customer base to achieve further growth. Looking ahead to 2018, our competitive advantage in the mobile and Internet of Things areas remains strong. We will continue to invest in differentiated technologies to create more opportunities for future revenue growth. Together with new products and customer design wins already under development, I have strong confidence in the company's outlook for next year. '
Operation profile
Innovation is the core of our business model. By focusing on R&D, we continue to invest in the development of innovative and differentiated technologies. The ability to recruit, train, and retain engineers is critical to our success. In 2017, we expanded The design centers in North America, Europe and Asia, including the team transferred from the acquisition of Silego, as of December 31, 2017, Dialog had 2,071 employees worldwide, of whom 75% were engaged in engineering design work. The number of employees increased by 17% year-on-year. % (1,766 in 2016). Our colleagues are located in 33 different locations in 16 countries. This global talent team enables us to maintain a strong relationship with our customers and partners and keeps us in a good record of innovation. .
Our solid competitive advantage lies in the ability to deliver superior products and technologies through a short design cycle. We bring value to our customers through highly integrated innovations, differentiated power management and energy-efficient products, and help them quickly bring products to market. This value supports the increase in product performance we achieved in 2017 and the potential for additional value in the medium term.
Our main terminal market is mobile and Internet of Things (IoT). The increasing popularity of standard technologies such as Bluetooth low-power, LED lighting, and the expansion of high-performance processors to in-vehicle infotainment systems have helped us expand in the automotive field. The business. In accordance with our strategic objectives, in 2017, we expanded the product line through a combination of natural growth and acquisition.
Mobile system
The Mobile Systems Business Unit has expanded its Special Purpose Standard Products (ASSP) series, added next-generation charging ICs, and introduced our first Nanoamp PMIC, which has made good progress. The ultra-compact nanoamp PMIC is a wearable device. , Smart home applications and many other networking devices provide high efficiency and flexibility.
In the fourth quarter of 2017, we also customized new PMICs for the next generation of our largest customers. All these opportunities from our largest customers are accumulating customer accreditation through one product and one product, as well as our highest technology. Standards, ability to develop leading technologies, and commitment to provide high quality products at reasonable prices and quantities.
At the same time, we continue to apply our power management technology to new markets and regions by expanding our platform reference designs. Our partnership with Spreadtrum enables Dialog to expand its mobile market share in China and Southeast Asia, with Renesas and Xilinx's cooperation has strengthened Dialog's influence in the automotive field.
Advanced mixed signal
In the fourth quarter of 2017, we established the Advanced Mixed-Signal Business Unit, which consists of the original Power Conversion Business Unit and the acquired Silego Business.
In 2017, the market continued to adopt rapid charge technology, although the growth rate was slow in the second half of the year. During the year, we introduced the USB Power Delivery 3.0 adapter solution and ushered in new customers in China, such as Huawei. We expect that new charging technologies such as USB PD Type C will become more popular from the second half of 2018. Dialog succeeded in the fast charging market by combining differentiating technologies, efficient execution speed and support for a wide range of fast charging protocols. Maintained leading market share. At the end of 2017, our RapidChargeTM solution for power adapters accounted for approximately 60% of the smartphone's fast charging adapter market.
Our extensive portfolio of LED solid-state lighting (SSL) driver ICs and proprietary digital conversion technologies enables high-quality solutions to be realized at low cost. In 2017, our SSL LED business grew steadily and acquired ams AG. The LED backlight technology enables us to expand our customer base, increase our share in the large flat panel display market, and target our target in the automotive display market in the medium term.
The acquisition of Silego in November 2017 allowed us to expand our product portfolio. The configurable mixed-signal IC (CMIC) helps customers quickly customize and integrate multiple analog, logic and discrete components into a single chip. This technology will help Expand our customer base and strengthen our business in the Internet of Things, mobile computing and automotive.
Connectivity
In 2017, our Connectivity Business Unit achieved milestone progress and shipped more than 100 million SmartBondTM SoCs to the IoT market. This fully demonstrates the value we bring to our customers and the technology continues to be widely Adopted by the application. Our strategy is still focused on vertical industries such as wearable devices, sensor tags, smart home or game accessories. In 2017, we introduced the DA14585 and DA14586 which support the Bluetooth 5.0 standard, and expanded the SmartBondTM product portfolio. These latest The products enhance the security of IoT devices and enable new user stories such as Bluetooth meshes.
The Connectivity Products business unit also aimed at the consumer headset market with SmartBeatTM wireless audio ICs. The first major OEM design win in 2017 for the DA14195 received wide industry attention. This technology enables a new immersive headset listening experience. It also supports wired USB 3.0 Type-CTM and Bluetooth-based consumer headsets. The DA14195 is currently being evaluated by several leading consumer headset brands and is being considered for gaming and USB Type-CTM headsets.
Automotive and Industrial
The automotive and industrial business unit achieved revenue growth of 10% year-on-year in 2017. This solid performance was mainly attributed to the good performance in the industrial lighting field.
Other business progress
Our strategic partnership with Energous continues in 2017 and promotes the adoption of true wireless charging by combining Energous wireless charging technology with Dialog's energy-saving technologies. In June 2017, we added additional investment to Energous. Up to 25 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 15 million U.S. dollars in investment, and in 2018, we announced that we will speed up the realization of a complete wireless charging product roadmap. This is thanks to the Mid Field WattUp Transmitter Reference Design passed the U.S. Federal Communications Committee (FCC) certification.
Dialog, Dialog logo, SmartBondTM, RapidChargeTM and SmartBeatTM are trademarks of Dialog Semiconductor Corporation or its affiliates. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. Dialog Semiconductor Corporation 2018 copyright holder, all rights reserved .
Dialog Semiconductor offers highly integrated standards (ASSP) and custom (ASIC) mixed-signal integrated circuits (ICs) optimized for smart phone, tablet, IoT, LED solid-state lighting (SSL) and smart home applications. Dialog has decades of experience. IC's rapid development experience and provide flexible and diversified support, world-leading innovation, mature partners trusted by customers. In cooperation with the world's leading manufacturer partners, Dialog adopts fabless operation mode as an active employer. Take social responsibility and carry out activities to benefit employees, communities, other stakeholders and the natural environment.
Dialog's energy-saving technologies include DC-DC configurable system power management to provide high efficiency, extend the battery life of mobile devices and enable faster charging to enhance consumer user experience. Its technology portfolio also includes audio, Bluetooth low energy , Rapid ChargeTM fast charge, AC/DC power conversion and multi-touch.
Dialog Semiconductor is headquartered in London and has sales, R&D and marketing offices around the world. In 2017, Dialog achieved approximately $1.35 billion in operating revenue. Currently, the company employs approximately 2,070 people worldwide. The company operates in Frankfurt, Germany (XETRA: DLG) is listed on the Stock Exchange (Regulated Market, Prime Standard, ISIN GB0059822006) and its stock is a constituent of the German TecDax Technical Shares Index.