Business briefs

28 Jul 2006

Including news from Newport, Corning, Coherent, Panasonic, Schott, and Cambridge Display Technology

• Newport, Irvine, CA, US, has reported financial results for its Q2 (ended 1 July 2006). Income totaled $9.2 million, an increase of approximately 67% over Q2 2005. Sales in Q2 2006 totaled $112.4 million, an increase of 14% over the $98.6 million recorded in Q2 2005. New orders received in the second quarter amounted to $124.0 million, an increase of approximately 22% over the $101.5 million recorded in Q2 2005.

These orders and sales resulted in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1 in Q2 2006. Newport reported income from continuing operations in the first half of 2006 of $15.6 million, an increase of 48% over H1 2005. Sales in the H1 2006 totaled $215.6 million, an increase of 9% on the $196.9 million in H1 2005. New orders received in the first half totaled $229.0 million, an increase of 12% on H1 2005.

• Corning has announced Q2 2006 sales of $1.26 billion and net income of $514 million, or $0.32 per share. These results include net special gains of $93 million, or $0.06 per share. Excluding these net special gains, Corning's Q2 income would have been $421 million, or $0.26 per share.

"We were pleased to meet our earnings-per-share guidance as we overcame the impact of the Q2 panel inventory correction on our Display Technologies segment," said Wendell P. Weeks, president and CEO. "The decline in Display Technologies' quarterly performance was offset by strength in our Telecommunications segment and lower operating expenses."

• Coherent, Santa Clara, CA, US, has announced financial results for its Q3, which ended July 1, 2006. The company posted sales of $149.5 million and net income of $10.9 million.

Sales and net income for the corresponding prior year period ending July 2, 2005 were $125.3 million and $9.6 million, respectively. These prior year results include a charge of $1.6 million for in-process research and development related to the purchase of TuiLaser AG and a $1.4 million tax benefit.

In comparison, sales for Q2 2006 were $146 million and net income was $8.2 million. Net income for Q2 2006 on a GAAP basis included $0.2 million ($0.01 per diluted share) in Excel Technology integration related costs.

"We have continued to drive higher sales while providing greater leverage to earnings through gross margin expansion," said John Ambroseo, Coherent's President and CEO. "In addition, our core markets remained robust as order growth continued to outpace sales growth. We look forward to successfully closing the German Federal Cartel Office's review of our planned acquisition of Excel Technology."

• Panasonic, Tokyo, Japan, the brand for which Matsushita Electric Industrial is known, has unveiled four new models in its PZ600 series VIERA plasma TVs. The new models, with screen size of 50, 58, 65 and the world's largest 103 inches, feature 1080p (progressive) high definition (HD) plasma display panels producing pictures at 1,920 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The four models support terrestrial, broadcast satellite and 110-degree CS digital broadcasts in Japan.

The 50 inch TH-50PZ600, 58-inch TH-58PZ600 and 65-inch TH-65PZ600 models will be available on the Japanese market from September. The 103 inch TH-103PZ600 will be built to order with sales also scheduled to commence in September 1 and delivery to start from late September.

• Schott has begun operating the first of nine new melting tanks for use in manufacturing glass tubes for the backlighting of monitors in Valasské Mezirící, Czech Republic. A double-digit million euro sum is being invested in expanding this site and 100 new jobs will result. At the same time, this move will also help secure jobs in Germany that fall under this product segment.

"In addition to benefiting from the strong growth of the backlight business, our advanced products have enabled us to increase our market share," said Karl-Peter Merz, a Schott director. "Much like neon tubes, backlights produce the light for nearly all TFT-LCD televisions, laptops and PDAs."

• Cambridge Display Technology, Cambridge, UK, has entered new geographical territory with the sale of inkjet printing equipment to the Genius Institute of Technology in Brazil. The Institute will use the equipment to develop its expertise in inkjet printing for polymer organic light emitting diode technology. The Litrex 70 printer is capable of printing on substrates up to 200mm square at up to 120 pixels per inch, and is ideal for research and development of P-OLED materials and devices.

Genius is working with partners: Gradiente, the largest Brazilian consumer electronics company, the Millennium Institute for Polymeric Materials and the Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory. "The Genius Institute has an enviable reputation as a center of technological excellence, and as a key strategic player in the development of supply chains for key technology areas," said David Fyfe, CDT's CEO. "They have recognized the importance of polymer OLEDs in the development of next generation displays and lighting."