Kopin posts record quarter and full-year profit
Kopin Corporation has generated a record annual profit of $11.7 million for fiscal 2005, compared with a $13.8 million loss for the previous year.
The US-based manufacturer of HBT epiwafers, LEDs, and displays posted sales of $24.9 million for the fourth fiscal quarter, and a profit of $3.7 million.
Greater demand for HBTs increased the revenue from III-V products, with sales contributing $13.5 million for the recent quarter, up $2.7 million sequentially and $4.9 million year-on-year.
According to company CEO John Fan, the increase in HBT revenue has been driven by an uptake in the sales of cell phones with greater functionality that require multiple power amplifiers to handle the additional power requirements.
"With an 80% share of the merchant HBT market, Kopin benefits from this trend because the move towards larger and more advanced power amplifiers increases the amount of our transistor content per phone," added Fan.
The III-V division is expected to continue to produce steady sales growth based on the strength of orders.
Kopin can also expect a strengthening contribution from its Cyberlite LEDs, now that its joint venture company Ko-Brite has started production at its fab in Dongguan City in China (see related story). Kopin says that the facility is expected to be running at full production later this year.
Kopin expects first fiscal quarter 2006 revenue to be in the range $17 million to $19 million, due to customer seasonality, but predicts that 2006 revenue will increase year-over-year on continued profitability.
