Aliso Viejo-based Telogis Inc. has followed up its software deal to equip General Motors’ commercial vehicles with its first contract with the U.S. unit of Hino Motors Ltd., the third largest truck maker in the world.
Hino Trucks’ hybrid models, the 2015MY Hino 195h and 195h-DC, will be equipped with the Michigan-based company’s next-generation telematics system, branded as Hino Insight 2.0 powered by Telogis.
The offering will also be available for retrofit on Hino’s conventional truck lineup.
The Hino brand, part of Toyota Group Co., sold 154,700 units last year.
Telogis uses GPS technology and proprietary software to help commercial fleets create better routes, track shipments and deliveries, manage mobile workforces, and smooth work flows.
The latest development builds on the momentum Telogis carried into 2014 following the $93 million it secured late last year in an initial funding round led by Menlo Park-based investment firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
The investment was the most any OC company raised in an investment round last year.
The Hino deal is the fourth partnership with a large maker of commercial vehicles for Telogis, which has been one of the fastest-growing companies in Orange County in the past few years. Executives told the Business Journal earlier that they expected sales to hit $100 million last year.
“We continue to really focus and invest in our dealer sales and in our [original equipment manufacturer] product and management platform,” said Susan Heystee, executive vice president of worldwide sales at Telogis. “We’ve continued to grow.”
Telogis’ inaugural round from institutional investors has spurred a hiring push in sales and marketing. The company added more than 140 employees in the past eight months and now has about 500 companywide.
Broadcom’s Baseband Exit
Broadcom Corp.’s recent decision to exit its baseband chip business has been welcomed by investors, but Wall Street analysts have been more mixed.
Deutsche Bank Equity Research is maintaining its “buy” rating after analyst Ross Seymore’s recent visit to the company’s Irvine headquarters.
Questions remain regarding the exit in terms of timing, charges and strategy. But the move will “significantly” boost earnings next year as Broadcom sheds some $500 million in annual costs related to baseband chips, Seymore wrote in a recent investor note.
Basebands are essentially the brains of mobile phones.
The assessment closely followed an upgrade by Drexel Hamilton, which said exiting the baseband business highlights growth potential in other areas, mainly high-speed data. Kevin Cassidy, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus, downgraded Broadcom to “hold” from “buy,” saying the loss of baseband business could fuel market share losses in connectivity chips for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and NFC applications, the company’s specialization in mobile phones.
Pacific Crest analyst Michael McConnell echoed similar concerns as Broadcom faces increased competition in the low-end and midcost smartphone market.
Among the bulls, Wedbush analyst Betsy Van Hees upgraded Broadcom’s stock, contending that potential losses in connectivity share could boost investment in other emerging businesses.
Cowen Group upped its price target on Broadcom shares to $39 from $32, saying the company’s baseband exit could make the company a better acquisition target and allow it to invest in other businesses.
