For first-quarter 2013, Riber S.A. of Bezons, France, which manufactures molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources and effusion cells, has reported revenue of €2.7m, down 56% on €6.2m a year ago and down 75% on €10.7m last quarter.
Fiscal Q1/2012 Q2/2012 Q3/2012 Q4/2012 Q1/2013 Revenue €6.2m €3.2m €7.3m €10.7m €2.7m
During Q1/ 2013, Riber delivered just one research system, compared with three research systems and one production system a year ago. Systems revenue was hence just €0.9m, down 89% on €4.6m a year ago. However, revenue is dependent on the production cycle for systems that have been ordered and are not an indication of the firm’s performance over the full year, Riber notes.
In contrast, following work to strengthen its commercial and technical organization, says Riber, the Services & Accessories business has confirmed its turnaround, with revenue rising 35% from €1m a year ago to €1.4m.
Sales of Evaporation sources & Cells are not particularly significant (€0.4m, versus €0.6m a year ago), says Riber, in view of the low level of investment in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and photovoltaic sectors. However, to prepare for the next waves of investment, Riber is maintaining a major research effort related to these markets, which the firm describes as ‘structurally buoyant’.
In Q1/2013, Riber booked three MBE system orders for research laboratories in China, Russia and India. Although still down 25% on €19.5m a year ago, the order book hence rose during the quarter from €12.1m to €14.6m. This includes Systems orders worth €13.4m (down 25% on €17.9m a year ago but up from €10.1m last quarter), comprising 14 research systems to be delivered in 2013 (in comparison, the total number of systems delivered in full-year 2012 amounted to 17, including a record 15 research systems). Orders for Services & Accessories were €1.1m, down on €1.7m last quarter and €1.5m a year ago. Orders for Evaporation sources & Cells are level on a year ago, at €0.1m, although down on €0.2m last quarter.
