Seeing Machines Ltd (AIM:SEE, OTC:SEEMF) has announced its 16th new contract in the automotive sector as it said it has been contracted to deliver its FOVIO driver monitoring system to a large unnamed European original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
This latest programme, set to begin production in 2026, is valued at an initial US$15 million.
"We welcome our 16th Automotive program award with our existing Tier 1 and OEM customers," said chief executive Paul McGlone.
"This expanded business opportunity extends our incumbency with this particular OEM, giving us increased confidence for extensions across more vehicle lines within their portfolio.
"As a leading supplier of mission-critical transport safety systems, being trusted is of paramount importance and while this individual award is reasonably modest in size, it further validates our proven technology and I am confident we will see more business from this OEM customer."
Seeing Machines' engagement in the automotive industry is robust, with the company now involved with 10 individual OEM customers.
The cumulative initial lifetime value of these OEM programs has reached US$336 million, reflecting strong confidence in the company's market-leading interior sensing technology.
The announcement came as part of Seeing Machines' release of its key performance indicators for the first quarter of the fiscal year 2024, which ended on 30 September 2023.
The report highlighted remarkable year-on-year growth in automotive production volumes, with a 98% increase to 222,138 units in the first quarter, up from 112,077 units in the same period the previous year.
The number of cars on the road equipped with Seeing Machines' driver monitoring technology has now surpassed 1.3 million.
In the aftermarket sector, the company reported a 30% increase in monitored connections over the past 12 months, reaching 54,140 units.
This growth is particularly noteworthy as it excludes the sale of approximately 480 Guardian units in the first quarter, which are part of an upgrade from generation-one to generation-two devices.
This upgrade is in response to Australia's phase-out of 3G networks in favour of 4G, which is expected to be completed over the next year.
"The quarterly KPIs provide transparency across the core metrics within our business and therefore expose us to seasonal trends, especially in the automotive space," said McGlone.
"That considered, we are pleased to see growth close to our expected 100% year-on-year run rate in Automotive royalties, with over 1.3 million cars on the road containing our safety technology and double-digit growth in our Aftermarket business.
"We are benefitting from the compelling structural drivers in our industry as new transport safety laws mandating the use of Driver Monitoring technology fast approach."