Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors N.V. posted strong second-quarter financial results today, beating on earnings and revenue due to a strong performance from its automotive chip segment.

The company reported earnings before certain costs such as stock compensation of $2.44 per share on revenue of $2.5.9 billion, up 43% from a year ago. Analysts had called for earnings of $2.31 per share on revenue of $2.58 billion.

NXP’s stock was up just over 1% in after-hours trading.

In a statement, NXP President and Chief Executive Kurt Sievers (pictured) said ongoing supply chain problems were still a problem, but stressed he’s positive about long-term demand trends across all of the company’s markets.

“While the supply environment will remain challenging in the near term we have taken actions to increase supply which underpin our confidence to drive very robust growth for the remainder of 2021, as well as into 2022,” he said.

NXP manufactures a wide range of microchips that are used for automotive, identification, wired and wireless infrastructure, lighting, industrial, consumer, mobile and computing applications. Its chips are highly regarded for their emphasis on security. For example, its automotive chips feature gateways that prevent communication with every network within a car independently, in order to protect vehicles from being hacked.

NXP’s automotive chips generate the bulk of the company’s revenue too. During the quarter, the business unit pulled in $1.26 billion in sales, up 87% from a year ago. The company sells a broad portfolio of automotive chips, with its silicon powering car radios, infotainment systems, vehicle-to-everything communications and tire pressure monitoring systems, for example.

Its other units are smaller but progress was generally good. Industrial & IoT revenue came to $571 million, up 31% year-over-year and Mobile sales came to $347 million, up 36%. The only disappointment was the Communications Infrastructure & Other business unit, which saw sales fall 8% to $416 million.

“It’s rare for enterprises to grow 40%, but NXP pulled this off,” said Holger Mueller, an analyst with Constellation Research Inc. “In the roller coaster operating model that underpins the trends in chips, NXP is riding high, with all product lines growing except Communications. Now investors want to see how long NXP will be able to push onwards on the growth path.”

Looking ahead, NXP offered fairly optimistic third-quarter revenue guidance of between $2.775 billion and $2.925 billion, some way ahead of Wall Street’s forecast of $2.7 billion.

Photo: New Mobility World/YouTube