Riber growth continues
Riber, a French semiconductor industry equipment firm, has reported results for the first half of 2018. Revenues for the first half of 2018 climbed to €17.0m, up 36 percent from the first half of 2017.
The strong growth in MBE system sales reflects the delivery of four machines, including three research units, compared with one research machine in the first half of 2017.
Revenues for services and accessories came in close to their level from the first half of 2017.
The evaporator sales growth takes into account the high level of deliveries for the screen industry, from which most of the orders were delivered during the first half of the year.
At June 30, 2018, the breakdown of Riber's revenues was as follows: Asia (74 percent), Europe (20 percent) and the United States (6 percent).
Order book developments
The order book at June 30, 2018 is up 103 percent from June 30, 2017 to €34.1 million. This growth reflects the contribution by each business line.
The systems order book is up 128 percent to €24.0m, with nine production machines, versus four in 2017, and four research machines, versus three in 2017. It does not include the order for a production machine in China, announced on July 12.
The services and accessories order book is up 23 percent to €6.3m. This performance reflects the positive trend for production and research MBE activities.
The order book for evaporators (cells and sources) is up 214 percent to €3.8m, with this growth driven by purchases for the photovoltaic industry.
Outlook
Riber is expecting a revenue increase in the second-half of 2018 versus the second half of 2017 and is targeting a year-on-year revenue growth of at least 15 percent for 2018 in view of the planned delivery timetable which extends until 2019.
