Dear valued shareholders, customers, partners and employees,
Many of us experienced our first pandemic lockdown in 2020. It gave us time to reflect and consolidate our thoughts and emotions about what was happening across the world, in our countries, our communities and our families. We never stopped developing innovative, reliable positioning, and wireless communication solutions that securely connect cities, industries, buildings, vehicles, and millions of people across our planet. Together with our innovative customers, some of these solutions are helping to flatten the Covid-19 curve and tackle the immense logistics challenge of distributing billions of doses of vaccine around the world, helping to ensure they arrive as quickly as possible, intact with optimal efficacy.
"If anything, the pandemic has bolstered the case for connected technology, driving up adoption rates the world over, as people have sought out contactless experiences that do not leave them isolated: remote work, online medical consultations, virtual events, online shopping, micromobility, and the list goes on."
The complete u-blox Annual Report 2020
Thomas Seiler, u-blox CEO, looks back at 2020 and forward to 2021
u-blox's full-year 2020 results were considerably impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. We ended 2020 with a record orderbook, driven by the long-term growth drivers of our business combined with resurgent demand that began to materialize in the second half of 2020 and continued to accelerate through the end of the year. We are experiencing this significant increase in demand across all of our regions and throughout our end markets.The restart in business activity has been particularly strong in automotive, and geographically in the Americas and EMEA, where production and business shutdowns were substantial during 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, our orderbook is approximately four times the amount we held in summer 2020.
As the world resets we maintain a healthy dose of optimism. u-blox is in high growth markets that are defining the future. By offering our customers a one-stop-shop for hardware components and cloud services, we help them mitigate risks and ensure that all the elements they need cooperate seamlessly - speeding up time to market with a predictable cost. Our Silicon to Cloud strategy will ensure we emerge even stronger once Covid-19 is behind us.
Our customers are optimistic. So are we.
One thing that is becoming clear across the megatrends that drive our corporate strategy and, ultimately, our business is that wireless is unequalled as a connectivity technology, and with the imminent rollout of 5G, there is no going back.
We are leveraging the potential of IoT with some of the world's most innovative people – our 9,000 customers. Meet five of them:
Orbcomm: ORBCOMM's advanced IoT solutions are powering the new stay-at-home economy and poised to support Covid-19 vaccination logistics
Swoop Aero: Swoop Aero's aeromedical logistics is transforming access to healthcare and delivering life-saving vaccines
Modmo: The e-bike that is ready to replace your car
Leikr: Wearable connected healthcare
GreenTeg: Wearable core body temperature monitors
