GAAP gross margin was 35% in the first quarter of 2021, compared to 35% in the prior quarter and 41% in the first quarter of 2020, temporarily compressed due to continued near-term investments in technology and manufacturing processes and systems as well as by the mix of products within the Premises segment.
GAAP operating expenses, including research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative were $8.9 million in the first quarter of 2021, compared to $9.3 million in the first quarter of 2020 reflecting leverage in the business model as expenses were reduced by 5% while revenues increased 22%.
GAAP net loss in the first quarter of 2021 was $1.5 million, or $(0.09) per basic and diluted share, compared to GAAP net loss of $0.7 million, or $(0.05) per basic and diluted share, in the prior quarter and GAAP net loss of $2.0 million, or $(0.13) per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2020.
Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2021 was $0.4 million, compared to a loss of $0.3 million in the first quarter of 2020.
Management Commentary
“In the first quarter of 2021, we continued to build on last year’s momentum. We grew total revenue 22%, our Identity business 38%, and our RFID business 59% year-over-year,” said Identiv’s CEO, Steven Humphreys. “RFID remains our key growth driver for our business, and in RFID we maintained a 100% customer retention rate, and we made substantial progress winning new customers with new design wins across medical devices, wearables, personal transportation and several other use cases. These designs are increasingly complex, leading to expanded gross margins and an improved competitive advantage for our business in the long-run. We expanded designs and production launches within existing customers, moving new designs through the production cycle, and we increased the number of RFID units shipped by 53% year-over-year to 40 million units. Separately, our Premises business grew 3% year-over-year, compared to the pre-COVID economy of Q1 2020, reflecting a return to growth above pre-COVID levels. With momentum building in the federal government, commercial businesses starting to make up for deployments that were delayed last year, and new product launches, we believe Premises is on track to grow strongly in the second quarter.
“We made solid progress on each of our primary areas of focus — growing our RFID business and position as an industry leader, capitalizing on the strength of the federal market, and driving recurring revenues and customer retention to increase our predictability — all of which have put us on track to hit our growth projections with potential upsides in the near-term and second half of the year.”
Sandra Wallach, Identiv’s CFO, added, “The financial results of the first quarter, and our progress subsequent to its end, have positioned us not only to grow revenues 20%-25% in the first half of 2021 but to continue building efficiently throughout the year. We increased revenues 22% while decreasing expenses 5%, demonstrating the leverage we have in our business model, and as of April 30, our backlog for the second quarter was up more than 30% from the same time last year, while our backlog for all of 2021 was up 50%. In addition to these highlights, we strengthened our balance sheet by successfully raising $40.25 million in gross proceeds including full exercise of the overallotment option from a public offering and by paying off our second promissory note. Looking ahead, we are confident that our expectations for double digit revenue growth in 2021 are within reach if not still somewhat conservative given the current business momentum.”