LPKF - back on track for 2014

As expected, the LPKF Group has made a subdued start to the 2014 financial year. First-quarter revenue was EUR 21.6 million, thus falling 35% short of the unusually high prior-year figure (EUR 33 million). At EUR 1.1 million, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were also lower than the previous year’s figure of EUR 6.7 million. The EBIT margin was 5%. Incoming orders, in contrast, set a positive tone in the first quarter for further performance during the year. At EUR 37.2 million, LPKF’s volume of incoming orders rose by 51% year-on-year. Even if reaching the targets for the year has become a more challenging proposition due to the weak first quarter, the Management Board confirms its guidance for the full year and expects the LPKF Group to generate revenue of EUR 132 million to EUR 140 million for 2014, assuming stable performance by the global economy. The EBIT margin is expected to be between 15% and 17% in 2014. Business with solar cell structuring systems has been particularly strong since the beginning of the year as LPKF was able to announce orders with a total volume of more than EUR 15 million. Further orders have come in since then, which means that LPKF can again expect moderate growth in this product group despite the persistent weakness of the solar energy market. Business with systems for electronics development (Rapid Prototyping Equipment) also performed well, with revenue increasing by 29% to EUR 6.3 million. The EBIT margin improved and reached 21.8%. After the excellent performance of business with Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) systems in 2013 - especially in the first quarter of 2013 - a slower development of LDS business was foreseeable for 2014. “Despite the subdued start to the current financial year, we are optimistic about the future. The trend towards miniaturization and functional integration in electronic devices regularly offers new applications for the laser as a high-precision tool, and laser technology is developing rapidly,” said Dr. Ingo Bretthauer, CEO of LPKF AG. Given a stable economic environment in both 2015 and 2016, the Man-agement Board expects revenue to grow by an average of approximately 10% per year and the EBIT margin to come in between 15% and 17%.