News

20 April 2010

 

Riber reports Q1 revenue up 11% year-on-year

For first-quarter 2010, 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 €2.9m, up 11% on €2.6m a year ago.

This was despite delivering the same number of research machines as in Q1/2009 (two) – representing systems sales down 8% from €1.2m a year ago to €1.1m - and sales of cells and sources falling 57% to €0.2m compared to Q1/2009’s exceptionally high €0.5m.

Growth was driven by the development of services and accessories sales under the Riber and VG brands, by 71% from €0.9m a year ago to €1.6m. Riber says that the year-on-year growth affirms its policy of developing services activities, which generate recurring revenue.

Order backlog at the end Q1/2010 was €9.1m, up 30% on a year ago. This includes seven machines to be delivered this year, including one production machine sold at the end of March to a Russian manufacturer.

Riber says that it will provide full-year sales guidance at the end of first-half 2010.

Riber receives R&D reactor orders from India and US

Further to the issue of its first-quarter 2010 results, at the end of March Riber received two orders from India and the US A for MBE reactors to be used in R&D .

Following delivery of a first order in 2009, EPIR Technologies Inc of Bolingbrook, IL, USA is increasing its number of Riber MBE systems by acquiring an MBE32 research machine (which is the foundation of Riber’s research systems portfolio, with hundreds sold to customers worldwide).

EPIR addresses the civilian and defense sectors, specializing in optoelectronic materials and sensors such as infrared detectors (using mercury cadmium telluride) and, more recently, biosensors and solar cells (working with partner Sunovia Energy Technologies Inc of Sarasota, FL on cadmium telluride on silicon solar technology). The MBE32 system will boost EPIR’s ability to develop and produce epitaxial materials.

Riber has also sold an EPINEAT research system to a major research institute in India, enabling the laboratory to increase its development capacities for the design of GaAs-based III-V components such as lasers, power electronics and RF communications.

Riber says that the MBE system is optimized for GaAs processing and provides greater added value than alternative metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) technologies, especially for high-output performance in the fabrication of complex heterostructure layers.

The firm says that, as a further stage of its growth in emerging countries, the order strengthens its position in the Indian market and more generally in the Far East market (the fastest-growing regions of the semiconductor industry).

See related item:

Riber confirms return to profitability in 2009

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