LPKF remains on track for success, even though revenue growth has slowed somewhat in the year’s third quarter, as expected. After rising by almost 40% in the first six months of the year, the nine-month reve-nue posted by the laser equipment manufacturer based in the German state of Lower Saxony is up 21% over the prior-year period.
 
These figures were published today in the company’s quarterly report. At EUR 19.5 million, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were also higher than the previous year’s figure of EUR 14.8 million. The EBIT margin reached 20% after nine months, thus surpassing expectations.

Orders on hand amounted to EUR 18.7 million, which is significantly lower than the prior-year figure of EUR 27.6 million. The figure for the previous year was impacted by a major order in the solar business, which has been completed to a large extent in the current financial year. At EUR 83.9 million, the volume of incoming orders is comparable to that of the previous year (EUR 84.9 million).

“Thanks to our surprisingly strong business with systems for laser direct structur-ing (LDS), we are now able to raise our forecast for 2013 slightly once again. We estimate that revenue will reach EUR 126 million to EUR 130 million and that the EBIT margin will be around 17%,” said Dr. Ingo Bretthauer, Chief Executive Officer of LPKF. In 2014, revenue is scheduled to be between EUR 132 million and EUR 140 million, and in 2015 and 2016, revenue is expected to grow by an aver-age of 10% per year, with the EBIT margin coming in at 15% to 17%.

LDS remains an important issue and is increasingly making its way into the production of molded interconnect devices (MIDs). LPKF also sees huge potential for LDS applications in the fast-growing market for LED lights. LPKF is currently presenting numerous new systems and applications at the "productronica" trade fair in Munich, including, for the first time, a system for prototyping LDS parts as well as a high-performance modular MicroLine generation for non-destructive cutting of complex printed circuit boards (PCBs), which LPKF intends to use to expand its customer base for PCB Production Equipment.

LPKF continues to believe that laser plastic welding has excellent growth potential, even though this business is more dependent than others on the development of the European automobile industry. The recent relocation of LPKF’s Welding Equipment operations to a new production hall in Fürth is one of the building blocks for the continued positive performance of the Group. “Now, nothing stands in the way of a dynamic development of laser plastic welding. We are stepping up our activities in Asia and the United States, where demand from the automotive, pharmaceutical engineering and consumer markets remains strong,” said Dr. Ingo Bretthauer.