Singulus Technologies announced preliminary financial results for the fist half of 2012.
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Unedited press release follows:
SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Reports Preliminary Results for the 1st Half of 2012
• Segments with mixed developments
• Key figures for the 1st half 2012 below prior-year levels
• Sustained delays in order intake in the optical disc segment
• Positive earnings 2012 still goal but challenging
• External growth in the spotlight
Kahl am Main, August 02, 2012 – The SINGULUS TECHNOLOGIES Group (SINGULUS) reports preliminary results for the 1st half of the business year 2012. In the period under review the order intake came to € 87.0 million (previous year: € 115.0 million). In particular the order intake in the 2nd quarter was below the level achieved in the same period one year ago due to delays in orders received for Blu-ray production machines. As of June 30, 2012 the order backlog stood at € 70.2 million, which is below the € 85.9 million achieved in the prior-year. In the first six months of the year 2012 SINGULUS realized sales of € 43.6 million (previous year: € 64.6 million), thereof € 27.6 million in the 2nd quarter (previous year: € 44.8 million).
In the 1st half of 2012 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) stood at € -12.4 million (previous year: € -0.2 million). The EBIT of the 1st half of 2012 includes extraordinary expenses in the amount of € 2.6 million. These mainly concern burdens from the legal challenge in connection with the merger with HamaTech AG and balance sheet losses due to foreign exchange translations. In the quarter under review the EBIT was negative and came to € -6.7 million (previous year: € 2.3 million).
SINGULUS’ key financial figures in the 1st half of 2012 were heavily impacted by the mixed trends in the various segments. In particular the sustained delays in the order intake in the Optical Disc division for production machines of the BLULINE II type have had a negative impact on the key figures. In the Solar division the order intake in the wet-chemical area fell short of expectations. However, overall the order intake in the Solar division is satisfactory. Especially the development of the order intake in the Semiconductor division with currently five machines is very positive.
Optical Disc segment
Despite the sustained delays in the intake of orders for Blu-ray manufacturing systems which have impacted our financial key figures in the current year, we still view the Optical Disc segment positively in the future. Together with the sales share from the service activities we expect SINGULUS to deliver good earnings contributions here in the next couple of years.
Solar segment
The market for production machines for solar cells has not yet recovered in 2012. We expect these uncertainties to prevail in the business year 2013. Despite the difficult environment we expect to benefit from the prospectively growing market with our technologically leading photovoltaic production machines.
Semiconductor segment
SINGULUS is the leading supplier for vacuum coating machines for MRAM wafer and write/read heads. With its well engineered machine technology SINGULUS is at the forefront to benefit from this growth stemming from an increasing demand for MRAM memory chips and to sell significantly more machines in the market. In particular for the upcoming industrial manufacturing of MRAM wafer, we are excellently positioned with our machines.
Outlook
SINGULUS works relentlessly on the planned expansion of business activities. One possibility is the broadening in the area of vacuum coating. SINGULUS is currently reviewing possible acquisitions in this field. Nevertheless, at the same time the market is also analyzed for other potential acquisition targets, which can be reasonably integrated into the company’s spectrum of work areas.
The next couple of weeks provide the possibility for us to receive additional orders, which can still make a positive earnings contribution in the business year 2012. Against the background of the Euro-crisis and the uncertain global economy we regard however it increasingly more challenging to achieve our expressed expectation of positive full-year results.