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07 Nov 2024
Photonics giant posts higher sales revenues amid continued strong demand for high-speed data center transceivers.
Coherent, the hugely diversified laser and photonics company, has posted sales revenues of $1.35 billion in its latest financial quarter, up 28 per cent year-on-year and thanks largely to demand for its datacom transceivers.
CEO Jim Anderson confirmed that the increase was mostly due to the continued boom in investment for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, with the Pittsburgh firm’s networking segment delivering $763 million - up 60 per cent on the same period last year.
“Our [quarterly] datacom revenue grew by approximately 16 per cent sequentially and by 89 per cent year over year, due primarily to AI data center demand,” he said.
“We're very pleased with the continued ramp of our 800 Gb/s transceivers and the adoption of those products across a broader set of customers.
“We also continue to make great progress on our 1.6 Tb/s transceivers. Having delivered initial samples in the preceding quarter, we continue to expect to begin ramping sales of 1.6 Tb/s datacom transceivers in calendar 2025.
“We're also investing in a broad portfolio of transceiver ingredient technologies that includes VCSELs [vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers], EMLs [externally modulated lasers], and silicon photonics.”
Excimers for OLED
Anderson also reported strong demand for the firm’s industrial excimer lasers used in organic LED display production - including the first revenues booked for Coherent’s new “Python” annealing lasers - with the lasers business segment posting sales of $348 million.
That figure represented a slight sequential decrease, but a 4 per cent rise on the same period last year, with the remaining $237 million in the latest sales total attributable to Coherent’s materials unit.
The solid performance meant that the company was able to deliver pre-tax earnings of $19.3 million, compared with a loss of $88.3 million a year ago.
Improving that bottom-line figure is a key target for Anderson, who wants to see a sharper focus in the firm’s operations and research and development spending.
Following a strategic portfolio assessment, the company has sold its under-utilized wafer fabrication facility in Newton Aycliffe to the UK government, and is now looking to offload its lithium sulfur battery technology, which was developed under projects funded by the US government.
Anderson hinted that further divestments were in the pipeline, adding that research investment had already been shifted away from “non-strategic” areas and into new datacom transceiver technologies and optical circuit switching.
“These are new future technology platforms that we're really excited about,” said the CEO.
Fiber laser revamp
Recent weeks have also seen the company revamp its industrial fiber laser offering, with its most recent launch the “ARM FL20D” system offering a new higher output power of 20 kilowatts and a “unique” dual-ring output.
The laser’s design incorporates a center beam and two coaxial ring beams, which is said to allow for precise welding control, especially in challenging materials such as cast aluminum.
Jarno Kangastupa, the managing director of Coherent’s Tampere operations in Finland, said: “The ARM FL20D laser is a game-changer for the welding industry. Its ability to achieve higher welding speeds while maintaining exceptional quality and reducing costs makes it an ideal solution for manufacturers seeking to improve their productivity and competitiveness.”
• Coherent’s executive team indicated that sales would likely rise again in the December quarter, with revenues expected to be somewhere between $1.33 billion and $1.41 billion.
That outlook appeared to go down well with investors, with Coherent’s stock price rising in value by around 6 per cent in after-hours trading following the update.
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