News: Suppliers
31 July 2020
Riber’s first-half revenue down 17% year-on-year
Riber S.A. of Bezons, France – which manufactures molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems as well as evaporation sources and effusion cells – has reported revenue of €11.6m for first-half 2020, down 17% on first-half 2019’s €13.9m. Business shows a good level of resilience despite an environment disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown measures, which have delayed certain deliveries, says the firm.
System revenue fell 35% by from €8.6m (four production systems) to €5.6m (three systems, including just two production units) after delivery of one production machine was deferred to Q3/2020 following difficulties sourcing certain parts.
Evaporator revenue has fallen further, from €1m to €0.1m, as the market remains sluggish due to the current lack of investment in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen industry, notes the firm.
Services & Accessories revenue has risen by 39% from €4.3m to €6m, in line with the plan to develop this business.
The proportion of revenue from Asia has rebounded from just 22% to 43%, while the USA has fallen back from 22% to 5% and Europe from 56% to 52%.
The order book at end-June is down year-on-year by 36% from €28.4m to €18.2m. This is largely due to Systems orders have fallen by 42% from €21.5m to €12.5m (comprising seven systems to be delivered in 2020, including two production systems). However, the delay in taking new orders is attributed to the pandemic and stronger restrictions in granting export licenses. Due to the slowdown in customer activity, Services & Accessories orders were down 18% from €6.9m to €5.7m. Evaporators orders were zero (the same as a year ago).
However, due to a strong portfolio of prospects, Riber expects to see a significant improvement in orders during second-half 2020.
Riber says that, faced with the cautious market environment seen during first-half 2020, it is taking particular care with its operational efficiency and its cost management. However, fhe firm has been awarded a €6m French government-backed loan, enabling it to continue investing in its R&D projects and production equipment.
Riber’s Q1 revenue down 19% year-on-year
Riber’s annual revenue grows 7% in 2019
Riber’s growth in Systems and Services revenues offsets 91% drop for Evaporators
