DGAP-News: LPKF Laser & Electronics AG / Key word(s): Quarter Results LPKF gets off to a subdued start in 2015 13.05.2015 / 08:01 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Garbsen, 13 May 2015 - LPKF Laser & Electronics AG today announced that it got off to a subdued start in the current financial year. At EUR 21.4 million, reve-nue in the first quarter was as expected close to the previous year's figure of EUR 21.6 million. The operating result (EBIT) fell from EUR 1.1 million to EUR 0.2 million. Accordingly, the EBIT margin of 1.0% also was lower than in the previous year (5.0%). Incoming orders totaled EUR 19.2 million, down 48% year-on-year. Orders on hand amounted to EUR 15.4 million compared to EUR 33.3 million in the previous year. The decline in incoming orders was mainly due to the fact that a major solar order was posted in the previous year's first quarter. Business performance in the first three months shows that the Garbsen-based laser specialist's main revenue driver, the Electronics Production Equipment segment, which also includes laser direct structuring (LDS) machines, has not yet overcome the previous year's period of weakness. At the same time, CEO Ingo Bretthauer sees clear indications of a continued improvement in medium-term growth prospects. "Particularly our new development projects, Through Glass Via (TGV) and Laser Transfer Printing (LTP), are attracting very specific interest in the market," said Bretthauer, summarizing: "The situation will remain difficult in the short term but there is reason to be optimistic in the medium term." The revenue of the Solar Module Equipment product group in the first three months was substantially higher than the prior-year figure because the remainder of the major order from 2014 was invoiced in the first quarter of 2015. Together with a development in the Welding Equipment product group that was in line with expectations, this led to generally very healthy revenue of EUR 8.5 million in the Other Production Equipment segment. The high level of incoming orders in Welding Equipment confirms that after a turbulent year in 2014 the plastic welding business will most likely return to its growth trajectory. Bretthauer is confident that with the new management and the transfer of production to a new building in Fürth LPKF has laid the foundations for a successful future in this product group. Order intake in Solar Module Equipment was substantially below the extraordinary high level in the first quarter of the previous year. However, as further projects in the solar segment for 2016 and beyond are already being negotiated, there are realistic opportunities to continue the success story of the solar business in the medium term. Revenue in the Electronics Development Equipment segment in the first three months of the year was down on the very strong prior-year period, but with the revenue generated and the gratifying order intake Bretthauer feels that the com-pany has a good chance of achieving its annual targets for this segment. Whether the LPKF Group will be able to reach its planned revenue and earnings targets for 2015 as a whole will also ultimately depend above all on the earnings of the Electronics Production Equipment segment in the current financial year. In terms of revenue, this segment started the first quarter on a weak footing. In this segment, LPKF is currently focusing on incoming orders. "As we have only limited visibility in this segment and the underlying markets change very rapidly, achieving our targets in this segment remains our greatest challenge in 2015," said Bretthauer. According to the most recent forecast, the Group expects to generate revenue of EUR 128 million to EUR 136 million in 2015 with an EBIT margin between 12% and 15%. In the first few weeks of the second quarter, the level of incoming orders in the LPKF Group failed to meet expectations. Furthermore, the number of new LDS projects is still too low at the moment. This situation may change rapidly if just a small number of major orders are implemented. At the present time, the Management Board therefore believes that it can still achieve its targets for 2015, though it considers these to be very ambitious. For 2016 and beyond, the Management Board is looking to the future with more confidence again based on the ongoing negotiations with customers. The newly developed technologies are attracting a great deal of interest among customers, leading the Management Board to expect additional growth momentum from 2016 onwards. The full quarterly report is available in German at www.lpkf.de/investor-relations/news-publikationen/finanzberichte/index.htm and in English at www.lpkf.com/investor-relations/news-publications/financial-reports/index. htm. About LPKF LPKF Laser & Electronics AG specializes in the production of laser systems for micro material processing and is the world leader in several sectors. Founded in 1976, the Group has its headquarters in Garbsen near Hannover in Germany and does business around the world through subsidiaries and representatives. LPKF has 800 employees. The shares in LPKF Laser & Electronics AG are traded on the TecDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ISIN 0006450000). --------------------------------------------------------------------- 13.05.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de --------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Company: LPKF Laser & Electronics AG Osteriede 7 30827 Garbsen Germany Phone: +49 (0) 5131 7095-0 Fax: +49 (0) 5131 7095-95 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: www.lpkf.com ISIN: DE0006450000 WKN: 645000 Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service --------------------------------------------------------------------- 356731 13.05.2015