Aixtron ups 2001 targets after Q3 tops forecasts
(UPDATE: Adds detail, background)
Wednesday November 7, 5:35 pm Eastern Time
FRANKFURT, Nov 7 (Reuters) - German semiconductor equipment maker Aixtron AG increased its 2001 sales and earnings targets for the second time this year on Wednesday after posting third quarter results which topped market expectations.
Aixtron, which makes the machinery used to produce chips for a range of specialised applications including lighting and optics and telecommunications systems, said it now expected 2001 sales of 241 million euros ($216.9 million) and net profit of 33 million euros.
Last month Aixtron Chief Executive Kim Schindelhauer reiterated a forecast for 2001 sales of 239 million euros, with net profit of 30 million, up from sales of 158 million euros and net profit of 18.5 million in 2000.
Aixtron, whose customers include telecoms equipment makers like Siemens , Nortel Networks (NYSE:NT - news) (Toronto:NT.TO - news) and JDS Uniphase (Toronto:JDU.TO - news) (NasdaqNM:JDSU - news), said the increased forecast came despite a steep fall in third quarter orders following the September 11 attacks in the United States.
``New orders, which in Q3 are mainly placed in September as a result of the summer months, were strongly influenced by the world political situation,'' the company said in a statement. ``Customers in North America in particular postponed new investments,'' it said.
Aixtron says its focus on so-called compound semiconductors, made of materials like silicon germanium or gallium arsenide which perform more efficiently than standard single-element chips in areas like optical communications, has left it well positioned to weather a slowdown in technology spending.
But the Aachen-based company, which has said it aims at average growth rates of 30 percent over the coming years, gave no forecast for 2002.
Aixtron reported third quarter operating profit of 15.8 million euros, almost four times the level of the previous year and ahead of expectations from analysts polled by Reuters of some 12 million euros.
Third quarter sales rose to 61.9 million euros from 28.9 million a year earlier and against average analysts' forecasts of 58.4 million euros.
New orders dropped to 31 million euros from 58.5 million a year earlier but the order backlog at the end of September was 16 percent higher than a year earlier at 142.8 million euros.
Aixtron's share price has climbed more than 50 percent since touching a 33-month low of 13.50 euros on September 21 but is still a third of its January high for the year of some 60 euros.
[Harry: Who else makes compound semiconductor equipment. Given the amount of equipment NT is selling, this is surprising. It looks like they are still investing in next generation products instead of outsourcing.] |
