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22 Apr 2025
Microdisplays firm posts solid increase in annual sales; says it is in a good position to cope with tariff impacts.
Kopin, the US developer of microdisplays and related optics technology for defense and commercial uses, has posted a 25 per cent increase in annual sales.
The Nasdaq-listed firm, which is part-way through a business transformation that will see significant investment in automation, said full-year sales revenues for 2024 ended up at $50.3 million, compared with $40.4 million in 2023.
Figures for the closing quarter of the calendar year highlighted that recent uptick in business, as Kopin’s revenues rose to $14.6 million, up more than 70 per cent year-on-year.
US facilities
That sales momentum helped to deliver a pre-tax loss of just over $2 million in the December quarter, down from $6.5 million a year earlier.
However, the firm’s annual figure for pre-tax loss ballooned to $43.9 million (up from $19.6 million in 2023) following the loss of a court case to Blueradios - for which Kopin has set aside nearly $25 million.
While acknowledging the current geopolitical and supply-chain tensions sparked by US import tariffs, CEO Michael Murray said he was expecting sales to continue rising in 2025, to somewhere between $52 million and $55 million.
Murray added that Kopin should remain relatively unaffected by the tariff situation, telling an investor call discussing the latest results:
“It is important to note that our top three programs are built here in the US. Much of our active opportunity pipeline will be built here as well, while our NATO and European demands can be supported through our Scotland facility.”
Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, Kopin has another US facility in Reston, Virginia, and its Scotland site in Dalgety Bay, near Fife, dates back to the firm’s 2011 acquisition of Forth Dimension Displays.
The CEO pointed out that, on the pricing side of the business, government contracts would allow the company to seek price increases if import tariffs do affect product costs.
Defense spending opportunities
Murray also told investors that Kopin currently had a high enough inventory of raw wafers to serve requirements this year, and that it had previously created dual supply chains for its organic LED on silicon displays that reduced exposure to Asia-based suppliers.
“No company will be immune to the effects of tariffs,” he added. “However, we believe Kopin is in a much better position than most due to these decisions.”
The company is also looking to take advantage of increased defense spending across Europe and Asia, in particular Korea, with what Murray described as an “influx of new and challenging opportunities” that fit Kopin’s strategic plan, priorities, and capabilities.
Next on the agenda for the firm is the implementation of AI-assisted factory and process automation, with a view to improving manufacturing efficiencies, increasing throughput, and boosting profitability.
“We are making these improvements to increase our manufacturing capacity without significant headcount increases to create a cost structure that turns volume into profit,” said the CEO.
Having last month secured a $14 million order from a major defense contractor for customized thermal imaging assemblies, Kopin has since added a $7.5 million deal to provide augmented reality (AR) microdisplays for pilot helmets under a US Department of Defense program.
• Following the announcement of that most recent DoD-related contract, Kopin’s stock price rose in value sharply, erasing some of the losses incurred over the past few weeks but still down around 15 per cent since the start of 2025.
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