Plymouth, MI and Hamburg, Germany - Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. has reported that net sales for 1Q14 ended Dec. 31, 2013 were $121.2 million, a 15% decrease over the same period last year ($142.2M) and ~17.8% lower than net sales for the 4Q13 ($147.6M).
Rofin-Sinar says that the weakening of the US dollar, mainly against the Euro, resulted in an increase in net sales of $2.0 million in the first quarter. Gross profit totaled $41.3 million, or 34% of net sales, compared to $50.1 million, or 35% of net sales, in the same period of fiscal year 2013.
RSTI net income amounted to $2.2 million, or 2% of net sales, compared to $8.9 million, or 6% of net sales, in the comparable quarter last fiscal year. The diluted per share calculation equaled $0.08 for the quarter based upon 28.3 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to the diluted per share calculation of $0.32 based upon 28.2 million weighted-average common shares outstanding for the same period last fiscal year.
“Our fiscal year began within our guided range. Net sales came in at the low end, but net income reached the high end of our guidance, due to a better gross margin. The quarterly highlight was order entry, which increased our ending backlog by $19.4 million quarter-on-quarter,” commented Gunther Braun, CEO and president of RSTI.
Order entry for the quarter increased by 2% to $140.6 million compared to the first quarter of fiscal year 2013, resulting in a backlog of $137.4 million as of December 31, 2013, mainly for laser products, says the company’s release. As of December 31, 2013, Rofin-Sinar had a book-to-bill ratio of 1.16 for the first quarter.
“Increased orders in Europe offset a further decrease in demand in Asia, whereas North America continued to place orders at the same levels as the first quarter of the last fiscal year,” added Braun.
On a geographical basis, revenues in North America decreased by 8% in the first quarter, totaling $24.6 million, whereas net sales decreased marginally by 2% in Europe, to $59.5 million, and by 33% in Asia, to $37.1 million.
“We have experienced robust sales from the machine tool industry for our CO2 and fiber laser products, though sales to the automotive, electronics and solar industries softened,” Braun continued.
Sales of laser products for macro applications increased by 1% to $49.1 million, accounting for 41% of total sales. Sales of lasers for marking and micro applications decreased by 27% to $56.0 million, representing 46% of total sales. Sales of components decreased by 4% to $16.1 million, representing 13% of total sales, says the company’s release.
"We expect European and North American business conditions to improve throughout the calendar year. Asian business will be heavily dependent on China's ability to maintain the current growth rate of the economy. During fiscal year 2014, we should capitalize on our efforts to optimize the cost structure of our fiber laser portfolio to the benefit of our profitability, and new product introductions in the short pulse technology space should help us to grow the business," Braun concluded.
Share buyback
The Board of Directors authorized the company to initiate a share buyback of up to $25.0 million of the company's Common Stock over the next 12 months ending February 10, 2015, subject to market conditions. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions or privately negotiated transactions at the Company's discretion.
Outlook
For the second quarter ending March 31, 2014, the Company expects revenues to be in the range of $123 million to $128 million and earnings per share to be in the range of $0.08 to $0.12. Actual results may differ from this forecast and are subject to the company’s Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.
Source: Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc.