Financial focus

16 Aug 2005

Including news from Jenoptik Group, Universal display Corporation, Cree and more.

•   The Jenoptik group has reported sales of EURO 895.1 million for the first half 2005 down from EURO 1,016 million for the same period last year following the sale of M+W Zander Gebäudetechnik at the end of 2004. Jenoptik's photonics business division experienced a 13.9% rise in sales to EURO 193.0  million, with traffic safety and plastic optics performing particularly strongly. Photonics order intake increased by 5.4% to EURO 240.2 million and the division begins the second half of 2005 with an order backlog of EURO 444.5 million. Jenoptik Group sales are expected to return to between EURO 1.9 and 2.1 billion for the fiscal year 2005, roughly the figure achieved in 2004 when adjusted for the sales of its Gebäudetechnik subsidiary.

•   LED maker Cree has announced record revenue of $389 million for fiscal 2005, a 27% increase on last year's figures. The US firm's net income for the year was up 57% to $91 million. "Recent sales data suggests that Cree's revenue grew faster than our top competitors in both Japan and Taiwan during the year," said Cree's CEO, Chuck Swoboda, "With over 85% of our Q1 sales target already booked, we believe the company is positioned for a strong start for fiscal year 2006."

•   Universal Display Corporation (UDC) has recorded a net loss of $3.19 million for the second quarter of 2005 compared with a net loss of $4.52 million for the same period last year. The firm attributes its improved financial performance to an increase in contract research and chemicals development revenue. "The results reflect increased interest in our OLED technology," said UDC's chief financial officer, Sidney Rosenblatt. "This interest was reinforced by the signing of an OLED patent license agreement with Samsung SDI paving the way for Samsung SDI to integrate our PHOLED technology into active matrix displays."

•   Advanced Research Technologies (ART), a developer of optical molecular imaging products, has posted a net loss of CAD$2,7 million for the second quarter 2005 compared with a similar figure for the second quarter 2004. Sales were CAD$752,000, up CAD$562,000 on the same period last year, and the firm is solidifying its financial position through a $10.9 million financing round with an additional $4.3 million in options. The company claims that it has sufficient cash and cash-equivalents to fund product development through to 2007. “We are starting to see a greater demand in both pharmaceutical and academic markets for our eXplore Optix product,” said ART’s CEO Micheline Bouchard. “We presently have five units in backlog, which will positively impact our third quarter sales.”