24 July 2015

Riber reports first-half revenue up 18% year-on-year to €5.7m

Riber S.A. of Bezons, France, which manufactures molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources and effusion cells, has reported an 18% rise in revenue from €4.8m in first-half 2014 to €5.7m in first-half 2015 (43% from Asia, 40% from Europe, 11% from Africa and 6% from North America).

MBE Systems sales picked up again, doubling from just two research systems in first-half 2014 to four (with total MBE Systems revenue rising by 32% from €2.1m to €2.8m).

Sales of services & accessories (€2.1m) and cells & sources (€0.8m) collectively are up 7% overall compared with first-half 2014. Individually, services & accessories revenue fll by 10% from €2.3m to €2.1m, while cells & sources doubled from €0.4m to €0.8m.

Sales also reflect the first contribution by MBE Control Solutions of Santa Barbara, CA, USA (acquired in March), which provides MBE system maintenance and refurbishment services.

Orders have fallen by 15% from €8m in first-half 2014 to €6.3m in first-half 2015. Specifically, MBE Systems orders have fallen by 19%, from €5.5m to €4.5m (comprising four MBE systems, including one production machine for Asia). Orders for services & accessories have fallen by 48% from €2.1m to €1.1m (which includes €0.3m from MBE Control Solutions). However, orders for cells & sources have risen by 83% from €0.4m to €0.7m (including prototype equipment for the OLED market).

Regarding OLED flat-screen markets, in line with its development plan, Riber has delivered part of the linear cells to equip a pilot line in Korea and has launched initial on-site qualification tests.

Despite orders falling from first-quarter 2015 (€4.5m), Riber says that a recovery in its order book from Q2's low is supported by a new research MBE system sold in July to an academic customer in France.

Also, faced with a sluggish industrial market, during second-quarter 2015 Riber further strengthened its sales & marketing operations for the research market.

"Order levels are building back up again, and we are rolling out major sales and marketing efforts to accelerate this momentum, which is reflected in a growing pipeline of potential orders," says Frédérick Goutard, chairman of the executive board. "Alongside this, in the OLED sector, we are continuing to develop our new range of cells, working closely with Korea's leading industrial firms in this business," he adds. "The full benefits of these promising developments are expected to be seen from 2016".

Riber notes that, in the context of order levels improving but belatedly, deliveries will extend into 2016, suggesting a fiscal 2015 in line with last year.

Detailed first-half earnings and the outlook for full-year 2015 will be issued on 25 September.

See related items:  

Riber reports €3.8m loss for 2014 on sales down 29%

Riber acquires MBE Control Solutions

Riber's revenue falls 29% in 2014 to €16.6m

Riber sees 44% revenue growth in Q3, driven by research MBE systems

Riber's first-half revenue down 39% year-on-year to €4.8m

Tags: Riber MBE

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