Aixtron's orders fall by 30 percent
German-based equipment manufacturer Aixtron received orders for the third fiscal quarter of 2004 of €25.9 million ($33.4 million), down €11.0 million on the previous quarter.
"After five consecutive quarters of increasing equipment order intake and an exceptional second quarter of 2004, this quarter does not necessarily indicate a market trend. However, such quarterly swings in order intake do validate our diversification strategy," remarked Paul Hyland, Aixtron s CEO.
Earlier this month Veeco, a rival equipment manufacturer, announced substantial falls in revenue (see related story). It blames a spending freeze by Asian customers for a 70% decrease in orders placed for its MOCVD equipment.
Aixtron s third fiscal quarter revenue was €30.4 million, down €3.8 million sequentially, but €8.9 million higher than the equivalent quarter of 2003. However, profits were up, with the recent quarter generating €3.2 million, compared with €0.5 million for the previous quarter.
The company has cut its guidance, expecting that 2004 will now bring in revenues of €125-130 million, and an associated net income of €3-4 million.
No update of the planned merger between Aixtron and US-based atomic layer deposition manufacturer Genus (see related story) was provided in the company s third-quarter results.