28 January 2016

Riber's annual revenue falls 23% to €12.8m in 2015

Riber S.A. of Bezons, France, which manufactures molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources and effusion cells, has reported a second consecutive year of reduced revenue (€12.8m for 2015, down 23% on 2014's €16.6m), linked primarily to the MBE market's significant contraction over the past two years during a cyclical low.

The majority of orders were booked in second-half 2015, yielding revenue of €7.1m (€5.1m in Q4 plus €2m in Q3) compared with €5.7m in first-half 2015 (€3m in Q2 plus €2.7m in Q1), as the year was marked by significant fluctuations in MBE system sales. System revenue specifically was €6.1m for 2015, down 35% on €9.3m for 2014.

Nevertheless, in the current environment, and despite very strong competitive pressure, Riber has maintained its market shares by focusing its commercial activities on R&D customers (the firm's traditional core business). Over the full year, nine R&D systems were delivered and invoiced, including four in Q4/2015, compared with a total of 11 for the whole year in 2014.

Revenue for Services & Accessories was €4.2m, down 31% on 2014's €6.1m which included a major sale (of €1.2m) for the full reconfiguration of a production system in France (restated for this order, revenue would be down 13% on 2014). The contraction in volumes has been mitigated by redeployment of the range of services & accessories on the firm's leading customers, as well as diversification and strengthening of the range of solutions offered following the acquisition in March of MBE Control Solutions of Santa Barbara, CA, USA (which operates maintenance and refurbishment services for all types of MBE systems).

Sales of Cells & Sources are growing strongly (up 123% from €1.1m in 2014 to €2.5m in 2015), due to the development efforts made, making it possible to further strengthen and diversify the range of cells offered. 
The geographic breakdown of Riber's revenue in 2015 was as follows: 45% for Europe, 35% for Asia, 10% for North America, and 10% for other continents (primarily South Africa and New Zealand). 

In fourth-quarter 2015, Riber's order levels continued to improve, due to two research MBE systems ordered in Germany and the USA (plus one production MBE system order in China, announced on 18 January).

At the end of 2015, the order book was €12.1m, more than doubling from €6m at the end of 2014. This includes seven systems to be delivered in 2016 (including two production systems) totalling €9.1m (up 125% on €4m in 2014), as well as orders for Cells & Sources and Services & Accessories of €3m (up 58% on €1.9m in 2014), comprising Cells & Sources orders of €0.6m (down from €0.7m) and Services & Accessories of €2.4m (doubling from €1.2m).

Riber confirms that it expects 2015 earnings to be lower than in 2014. Net cash at end-2015 was positive, at €0.1m, which is down from €2m at the end of 2014 but an improvement from -€0.1m at the end of June 2015. Full-year earnings for 2015 will be released on 31 March.

Riber concludes that, due to the improvement in second-half 2015, it expects business to pick up again in 2016, as confirmed by the recovery in the order book.

See related items:  

Riber receives order for MBE production system

Riber receives two orders for research MBE systems

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

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

Tags: Riber MBE

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