Financial focus

01 Aug 2003

The latest financial results from Bookham Technology, New Focus, VISX, Cree and more.

•  Despite posting flat quarterly revenues of £21 million, Bookham Technology has recorded a second quarter loss of £18.1million ($30.1million) compared with £25million in the previous quarter. The company reduced its cash burn by 5% to £16.9million during the quarter. The UK optical component maker also announced it is ditching its ASOC platform, a move that will eliminate up to 180 jobs through the closure of its Milton plant in the UK.

•  The research and semiconductor capital equipment markets have yet to show any solid signs of recovery and will remain sluggish throughout the third quarter of 2003, according to New Focus’ president Nic Pignati as he announced a second quarter loss of $7.2million. This compares with a net loss of $5.1million in the previous quarter and a net profit of USD 5.3million for last year’s second quarter.

•  DALSA, the Canada-based imaging giant, has filed a second quarter revenue of C$32.7million, down 2.2% on the previous quarter but up 2.1% year-on-year. Due to the rapid appreciation of the Canadian dollar relative to the US dollar, the company recorded a foreign exchange pre-tax expense of C$1.3million during the quarter, compared with an expense of C$0.8million for the same period last year. DALSA says it has purchased forward exchange contracts to avoid the risk of currency fluctuations in the second half of the year.

•  VISX, the US maker of laser vision correction systems, has announced a second quarter revenue of $31.9million compared with $36.6million in the previous quarter. The company says that international laser sales were weak due to SARS-related issues, but this was offset by strong license revenue for its CustomVue procedures.

•  Cree, US, has continued its run of record-breaking quarterly revenue posting a figure of $64.1million for its fourth quarter. This compares with a third quarter revenue of $60.2 million and a revenue of $37.8million in quarter four in 2002. The company also reported an annual revenue of $229.8 million for fiscal year 2003, up 48% compared to a revenue of $155.4million for fiscal year 2002.

•  Lumenis, the Israeli maker of medical lasers, has seen its net loss spiral to $29.5million in its second quarter compared with $2.5million for the same period last year. The company also saw its second quarter revenue fall $21.8million to $68.1million year-on-year. “Clearly, given the disappointing results, significant changes and improvements need to be made in our cost structure and organization,” said Lumenis’ president Avner Raz.