Wi-Fi and WLAN fuel strong rebound at Kopin
Kopin Corporation of Taunton, MA, recorded revenue of $21.1 million in its fourth quarter, ended December 31, 2003. The figure represented a 21% sequential increase in sales.
Sales of III-V components were particularly strong in the traditionally buoyant quarter, with revenue from this side of the business increasing to $8.8 million from $6.0 million in the previous quarter and up from $5.6 million in the same period of 2002.
The remaining $12.3 million revenue arose from sales of its liquid crystal microdisplays.
“Wireless handset sales were particularly strong in the fourth quarter, and this fueled a strong rebound in sales of our HBT transistor wafers,” said John Fan, Kopin’s president and CEO.
“HBT sales also benefited from growing business and consumer demand for Wi-Fi and WLAN applications,” he added.
Fan said that Kopin was to increase the research and development spend on its line of blue and green LED products, Cyberlite, which it sees as the next major III-V market for the company.
In its full-year report, Kopin said total revenue for 2003 was $76.6 million, down slightly on the 2002 figure of $76.8 million. Net loss for the year was $6.9 million, down from $31.9 million in 2002. The previous year’s loss included a charge of $12.6 million arising from Kopin’s write-down of an investment in Micrel Semiconductor.
In its outlook, Kopin said that it was looking to enhance the performance of both its HBT and Cyberlite LED products. Total revenue in the first quarter of 2004 is expected to be flat or slightly up on the final quarter of 2003, and 15-20% up on the same period last year.
