Business briefs
17 Jun 2002
Including news from Rofin Sinar, Corning, Cree, Emcore, PowerLase and more.
Industrial laser manufacturer
Rofin Sinar of Germany, has posted second quarter net sales of USD 53.4 million, a 9.6% rise from the previous quarter but down 8.6% year-on-year. Chief executive officer Peter Wirth said that the record sales of high-power lasers used for cutting and welding applications compensated for weaker sales to the semiconductor and electronics industry.
Corning has won a contract to supply optical fiber to
Alcoa's AFL Telecommunications business up to 2005. In a deal worth more than USD 100 million, AFL will use Corning's fiber to make optical ground wire and cables for the power-utility market.
UK-based
PowerLaser, a developer of high-power solid-state lasers, is expanding its manufacturing facilities. The
Imperial College London spin-off will now scale-up its development into extreme ultraviolet sources for next generation lithography.
Taiwan-based
PicVue and
Scipher of the UK are to open a new facility in Taiwan and begin mass-production of microdisplays by the end of 2003. PicVue, a supplier of liquid-crystal displays, expects the facility to have an initial production capacity of several million displays per year. Scipher, which has licensed products to the venture, will receive up to 3% of all sales in royalties.
Cree, US, is targeting a 5% increase in revenues during its current fiscal quarter. Despite posting a 19% sequential decrease in revenues for the previous quarter, the company is optimistic about meeting this goal. Thanks to an increasing demand for blue and white LEDs, revenues during April doubled that of January.
Emcore, a US maker of semiconductor materials, has reported second quarter revenues of USD 23.1 million, up 21% from quarter one. Materials-related revenues soared to USD 18.7 million, a 112% increase from the USD 9.9 million announced for the first quarter with photovoltaic devices experiencing the highest demand.
Aixtron, a Germany-based manufacturer of MOCVD systems used to make semiconductor devices, has reported a decrease in first quarter sales and a sharp drop in new orders. First quarter sales were EURO 47.2 million (USD 43.3 million) compared with EURO 59.8 million reported for the same period last year. New orders for the quarter have slumped from EURO 52.3 million to EURO 25 million year-on-year.
