Riber’s operating income grows more than five-fold in first-half 2018

Riber S.A. of Bezons, France, which manufactures molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources and effusion cells, has confirmed revenue of €16.7m for first-half 2018, up 34% on €12.5m first-half 2017.

Systems revenue grew by 340% from just €0.9m to €3.7m, with the delivery of four MBE systems (including one production system) compared with just one research system in first-half 2017. Revenue for evaporators (Cells and Sources) grew by 18% from €8.8m to €10.4m (driven by major deliveries of evaporators for the screen industry). Revenue for Services and Accessories fell by 7% from €2.8m to €2.6m.

Gross margin has risen from 46.2% to 48.8%, reflecting the positive change in revenues and the effective management of commercial margins.

Operating income was €2.8m (operating margin of 17%), up from just €0.5m (4.2% margin) in first-half 2017 (which included various non-recurring items for €0.8m).Net income was €2.4m, up from just €0.1m in first-half 2017.

Net cash at end-June 2018 was €5.2m, up from €4.6m at end-June 2017) but down from €7.3m from at end-December 2017 due mainly to the growth in business resulting in an increase in inventories during first-half 2018.

Shareholders’ equity has risen during first-half 2018 from €19.8m to €21.1m, after factoring in half-year earnings and the annual dividend paid out in June.

The order book has more than doubled from €16.8m at end-June 2017 to €34.1m at end-June 2018, Riber says that it has good visibility for 2018 and 2019. For full-year 2018, it is hence forecasting revenue of €35m and at least 15% year-on-year growth in income from ordinary operations.

Riber says that the opening of its fully owned subsidiary in China in July should enable it to further strengthen its presence on the Chinese market, which offers major prospects for semiconductor manufacturing investments, and where several high-potential projects are currently being negotiated to serve the Chinese market for fiber-optic and terrestrial telecoms networks. It should also help to offer sales and after-sales services for Chinese clients, as well as maintenance solutions.

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