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25 Oct 2023
French firm expects a strong finish to the year, with production facilities said to be running at full capacity.
Lumibird, the Paris-listed laser and photonics company, has posted sales of just under €42 million for the third quarter of 2023, keeping it on target to hit growth expectations this year.
The latest update means that sales revenues in the first nine months of this year amounted to €139 million - up 11 per cent year-on-year.
And the rest of the year looks positive as well: “With a strong order book and production facilities at full capacity, Lumibird again expects strong sales, with a cautious target of over 8 per cent organic growth in annual revenues,” stated the firm’s management.
That would suggest full-year sales approaching €210 million, when contributions from recent acquisition Convergent Photonics are also included.
Saab boost in Sweden
The latest quarter saw Lumibird’s medical division contribute €21.8 million in revenues, plus €20 million from its photonics business unit.
The photonics unit benefited from a strong increase in sales for defense and space applications, which were up more than 30 per cent year-on-year. On the other hand, lidar sales declined significantly, although Lumibird said this was only a temporary effect.
Those figures highlight the impact of Saab’s laser rangefinder business, which Lumibird acquired in May 2022. So far this year, it has contributed sales of €8.9 million.
That business got an additional boost last month, when Lumibird revealed that it had received a €20 million order to supply more than 100 laser rangefinders over the course of three years, and would also be ramping up production.
Meanwhile sales into industrial and scientific applications have held steady so far this year, and should benefit from recent investments in additional capacity in the closing quarter.
In terms of geography, Lumibird said that strong sales in France and Sweden had driven a sharp increase in revenues from Europe overall, with the medical division currently doing well in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.
And although sales in the US have been flat so far this year, Lumibird is expecting a pick-up in the current quarter as new products hit the market following delays and postponed deliveries earlier in the year.
“With seasonality favoring business at the end of the year, a strong order book and production facilities at full capacity, Lumibird once again expects record sales in the fourth quarter,” stated the firm.
In 2022, the company posted sales of €66 million in the closing quarter - suggesting that the full-year total for 2023 should reach at least €205 million.
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