In brief: Finisar, fiber-optic collaboration, SAES
Finisar makes a hefty loss
Finisar, the Sunnyvale, CA, optical component and subsystem manufacturer, reported total revenue of $185.6 million for fiscal 2004, which ended on April 30.
In its fourth quarter, Finisar made a net loss of $24.5 million on sales that rose 43% on the equivalent period in 2003 to $57 million.
Despite the annual revenue figure representing an 11% improvement on the 2003 total, the company still made a loss of almost $114 million.
The Honeywell VCSEL business that Finisar acquired earlier this year contributed $6.7 million to fourth-quarter revenue, while the impending acquisition of Infineon’s fiber-optic business ought to further boost revenue in fiscal 2005.
On an operating basis, Finisar made a loss of $83.5 million in fiscal 2004, a figure that included a $6.2 million charge associated with the acquisition of Honeywell’s VCSEL business.
The company currently holds $69.9 million in cash and cash equivalents among total current assets of $231 million.
Japanese companies sign multi-source agreement
Five Japan-based companies have signed a multi-source agreement (MSA) for miniature 10Gb/s devices.
Eudyna Devices, Mitsubishi Electric, Oki Electric, Opnext and Sumitomo Electric Industries say that the devices covered are capable of transmitting over 20km or more.
The MSA has been created to establish compatible sources of 10Gb/s transmitter optical sub-assembly (TOSA) and receiver optical sub-assembly (ROSA) devices embedded in a 10Gb/s XFP module.
The module is compatible with 10 Gb Ethernet, Fibre Channel and SONET OC-192 standards.
SAES sees ammonia purifier demand rise
Source gas supplier SAES Pure Gas says that orders for ammonia purifiers have increased markedly.
The purifiers are primarily used to remove water and oxygen from ammonia gas. The gas is used in both silicon and compound semiconductor device manufacturing, where it provides a source for atomic nitrogen.