Smart card industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan, Anoop Ubhey said Philips Semiconductors' growth was mainly due to its strong development in the banking and transport markets.

“The business saw impressive growth in the banking smart card world based upon its success with the VISA-Java card program and other important banking schemes whilst also experiencing excellent performance levels in the transport arena using MIFAREŽ technology. Additionally during 2001, Philips Semiconductors saw growth in the SIM card market; an area that has seen many smart card players affected by slowdown." Ubhey commented.

"It would not surprise me to see Philips Semiconductors move to the overall number two position for smart card IC revenue in 2001."

Philips Semiconductors attributes its success in 2001 to its continuation as the number one supplier of contactless smart card technology with the shipment of its 200 millionth MIFAREŽ chip card IC to the marketplace.