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25 Jul 2023
Solid increase in revenues thanks in part to additional lidar production capacity and strong market demand.
The diversified French photonics company Lumibird has posted quarterly sales of €56.3 million for the three months ending June 30 - up 22 per cent on the same period in 2022.
The Lannion-based firm, which is listed on the Paris stock exchange, saw its stock price jump in value by around 5 per cent after releasing the latest figures, with the strong performance attributed partly to recent investment in production capacity at sites in France, Sweden, and Slovenia.
With sales now standing at €97.3 million for the opening half of 2023, Lumibird’s management indicated that the company should come close to achieving its targeted €250 million annual turnover once its planned acquisition of Convergent Photonics is completed.
That deal remains subject to regulatory approvals in Italy and the US, with further acquisitions said to be in the pipeline.
“If those acquisitions were to be completed in 2023, the Group could reach an annual turnover (including the contribution of the acquired businesses over 12 months) of up to €250 million,” reported the firm in its financial statement - although the planned deals are likely to reduce overall company profitability in the near term.
Lidar and laser rangefinder demand
The first half of 2023 has seen Lumibird’s photonics division sales rise by 21 per cent on the previous year, once foreign exchange rates are taken into account, with the firm’s “defence and space” business posting an increase of 63 per cent.
“This good performance is partly driven by the [former Saab] laser rangefinder business developed in Sweden since May 2022, which contributed €6.5 million [out of] a total €16.7 million for this market segment,” stated Lumibird, with deliveries for several satellite constellation deployments said to be in progress.
Sales of lidar products were also up strongly, rising 29 per cent in the first half of the year thanks to increased production capacity at Lannion and continued strong market demand.
Meanwhile, the company’s industrial and scientific activities are said to be back on track to solid growth, after being held up at the start of this year by the move to a new site in Villejust, on the outskirts of the French capital.
Lumibird’s medical division, which targets diagnostic and therapeutic applications of ophthalmology, posted €51.3 million in half-yearly sales - up 14 per cent on last year in constant currency terms.
Therapeutic applications accounted for around three-quarters of that total, boosted by new products for cataract and glaucoma interventions.
US sales hit by delays
The strong performance by Lumibird’s laser rangefinder and lidar businesses was highlighted in the firm’s geographic breakdown, with the photonics division recording a 45 per cent increase in European sales.
However, sales in the US were adversely affected by both exchange rate effects and the postponement of deliveries by certain industrial customers.
Registration delays in the US also held up medical sales, meaning that total half-yearly sales in the Americas region dropped by 9 per cent on the figure recorded for the same period of 2022.
Created in 2017 from the combination of Keopsys Group and Quantel, Lumibird now employs more than 1000 people, and posted annual sales of €191 million last year.
The firm is targeting annual sales growth of around 10 per cent every year, not including acquisitions, and reiterated its 2023 revenue target of €250 million earlier this year.
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