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The business development of LPKF Laser & Electronics SE has gained significant momentum in the last three months. The technology company's order situation also remains positive. In the third quarter, the company reached the upper end of its forecast for this period with sales of EUR 33 million and earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 2.7 million.
After 9 months, year to date sales reached EUR 80.9 million compared to EUR 86.8 million in the same period last year, as a particularly high proportion of deliveries in the current year take place in the fourth quarter. The EBIT was at EUR - 4.3 million (9M 22: EUR 2.5 million).
The order situation in the Group continued to develop well. At EUR 94.0 million, incoming orders after nine months were 28.6 % above the previous year (9M 22: EUR 73.1 million). The order backlog rose from EUR 48.8 million in the previous year to EUR 76.2 million, of which approximately EUR 40 million is due for delivery in the fourth quarter.
"We are pleased with the good order development in the third quarter and are focused on managing the upcoming deliveries in the fourth quarter well ", says Dr Klaus Fiedler, CEO of LPKF. "In addition, we are pleased that the marketing campaign for the CellShepherd has started as planned. The CellShepherd is the first product from our new biotechnology product line (ARRALYZE) and will be officially launched in the first half of 2024." In August this year, LPKF moved part of its ARRALYZE team into the BioLabs Group's co-working spaces at Tufts University in Boston, USA.
LPKF is also looking positively ahead in the LIDE (Laser Induced Deep Etching) product segment. In September this year, a leading global semiconductor manufacturer publicly declared its support for the future use of glass substrates, thus accelerating corresponding activities throughout the industry. From LPKF's point of view, LIDE technology is an important building block for the planned use of glass in high-performance chips. Since LIDE is already used in volume production in other application areas, LPKF considers itself well positioned here both technologically and operationally.
In the core business, the Electronics segment developed positively due to the introduction of Tensor technology. The significantly higher performance of the cutting systems has given LPKF a noticeable competitive edge. In the Solar segment, LPKF has taken a leading role in the development and production of processes for new semiconductors such as perovskites and has already delivered its first systems. Furthermore, the company was able to significantly broaden its customer base in this segment.
Outlook
The Management Board confirms its forecast for the full year 2023 with sales of EUR 125 to 135 million and an EBIT margin of 3 to 7%.
In the medium term, as already communicated, LPKF aims to achieve an attractive single-digit growth rate for its core business. In addition to the core business, the new business initiatives in the semiconductor, display and biotechnology markets are expected to contribute a total sales in the low three-digit million euro range in the medium term. Based on the growth in sales and the resulting economies of scale, the Management Board aims to achieve an attractive double-digit EBIT margin for the LPKF Group in the coming years.
