Viscom Posts Strong 1H 2015 Results

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Viscom AG, the European market leader for automated optical inspection (AOI) systems for the electronics industry, can look back on a positive first half of the year 2015. At €31.8 million, order intake was up approximately 6% on the previous year's excellent figure. Revenue also improved by roughly 14% year on year to €30.1 million. While the Group was able to record historical highs for these items during the first half of 2015, EBIT was slightly weaker during the second quarter of the financial year due to the higher cost of materials, particularly related to prepayments required for processing order backlog. As of 30 June 2015, the EBIT-Margin amounted to 10.2% compared to 9.2% in the previous year.

During the first half of 2015, Viscom Group generally profited from the ongoing strong demand from the automotive supplier industry in Europe and on the US market. The newly founded "Global Business Development Team" also had a successful first half of the year, attaining additional international benchmarks, particularly in the field of electronic manufacturing services (EMS).

In the first half of 2015, the Viscom Group generated revenue of €30,061 thousand, which is an increase of 14.2% compared to the previous year's level (previous year: €26,313 thousand). Operating profit (EBIT) amounted to €3,054 thousand (previous year: €2,419 thousand). This corresponds to an EBIT-Margin of 10.2% (previous year: 9.2%). Net profit for the period declined from €1,702 thousand in the previous year's period to €1,613 thousand. Taxes on income had a particularly negative impact on net profit for the period.

Accounting for 60.4% of revenue, Europe was by far Viscom Group's strongest region and generated revenue of €18,171 thousand in the first half of 2015 (previous year: €18,327 thousand). Revenue in Germany amounted to €7,938 thousand (previous year: €8,252 thousand). The segment result in Europe totalled €1,787 thousand (previous year: €2,127 thousand), which corresponds to an EBIT-Margin of 9.8% (previous year: 11.6%).

In the first half of 2015, the Americas continued to be characterised by strong demand from the automotive electronics production industry. New production lines and the upgrading of existing systems were responsible for the robust revenue, especially in Mexico. A number of sales successes were also achieved in the area of industrial and medicinal electronics for small and medium-sized service providers in the US. Intensified activities in the Computers, Communication and Consumer (3C) sector by globally operating EMS also suggest future growth.

At €6,167 thousand, revenue was up by approximately 67% year on year (previous year: €3,686 thousand). The segment result in this region was well above the previous year at €621 thousand (previous year: €389 thousand) and the EBIT-Margin stood at 10.1% (previous year: 10.6%).

In Asia, the generally optimistic business environment of the first quarter of 2015 became considerably more subdued during the second quarter. The Chinese market, in particular, recorded a decline in order intake from the automotive electronics industry in the second quarter. As a result, investments in fixed assets were subsequently put on hold or even cancelled by major multinational companies.

Viscom, in contrast, was able to compensate for the stall in system sales during the first half of 2015 with its strong service business based on very high demand for upgrades and support. The optimistic sentiment for the second half of 2015 is being fuelled by the interest of local Chinese customers in high quality inspection systems as well as by the solid order backlog. At €5,723 thousand, Group revenue in Asia was well above the previous year's figure (previous year: €4,300 thousand), which corresponds to a 33.1% increase. The segment result in Asia amounted to €969 thousand and the EBIT-Margin was 16.9%.

The management of Viscom AG affirms its guidance for the financial year 2015 with revenue of between €62 million and €67 million and an EBIT-Margin of 13% to 15%.