Financial focus

25 Jul 2003

Latest results from some of the industry’s big hitters, including Coherent, JDS Uniphase and GSI Lumonics.

•  Coherent president John Ambroseo was clearly disappointed with the company’s latest financial quarter, describing the results as “clearly unsatisfactory”. Despite cost-cutting measures and additional revenue from the acquisition of Positive Light earlier this year, Coherent still made a slight loss on its USD99.2million quarterly income. “The weak results at the Lambda Physik subsidiary are a major concern to us,” added Ambroseo, reflecting on a sharp drop in revenue from the subsidiary company.

•   “Although we have yet to see evidence of a significant recovery in [the semiconductor equipment] market, we do not see signs of deterioration.” That was Newport chairman Robert Deuster’s assessment of the current health of the semiconductor market, as he reported second-quarter sales of USD33.8million. Newport recorded a small loss on the revenue, but said that it expects to be profitable in the second half of this year.

•  No such difficulties at infrared camera specialist FLIR Systems, however. The US-based company’s second-quarter revenue was up 18% on last year at USD75.2million. In the first half of the current financial year, FLIR has banked almost USD30million in profits. Company president Earl R Lewis said that sales of thermography systems had increased significantly.

•  Networking giant Lucent appears to have given up hope of recording a profit in the current fiscal year. Chief executive Patricia Russo said that the company “now expects a return to profitability in fiscal 2004”. Compared with last year, Lucent’s third-quarter sales were down 34% at USD1.96billion. And despite extensive cost-cutting action, this translated to a USD254million net loss. “We clearly have more work to do,” said chief financial officer Frank D’Amelio.

•  JDS Uniphase reported revenue of USD676million for the fiscal year ending June 30, down from USD1.1billion one year ago. Following the extensive restructuring of the company, net loss stood at USD934million for 2003, compared with almost USD9billion last year. In its fourth quarter, sales were USD161million, down from USD166million in the previous quarter.

•  Increased sales of lasers and laser systems helped boost GSI Lumonics’ revenue in its second quarter of the year. Total sales stood at USD44.7million, up 13% on last year. Despite noting a lack of any recovery in the semiconductor capital equipment market, president Charles Winston said that the laser systems segment had benefitted from a pickup in orders for memory and circuit trimming applications.