NORTH BILLERICA, MA – BTU International today reported fourth-quarter 2010 net income of $2.2 million, compared to a net loss of $3.9 million in the same quarter of 2009 and breakeven in the preceding quarter.
Net sales for the period were a record-breaking $27.4 million, up 127% year-over-year, and up 44% sequentially.
Net income for 2010 was $2.2 million, compared to a net loss of $14.6 million in 2009. Full-year net sales were $81.6 million, up 81% year-over-year.
“Our alternative energy business contributed 60% of our system sales in the fourth quarter. This marks the first time that our alternative energy – solar and nuclear – business exceeded our electronics assembly business to become the primary contributor of net sales. The growth of our solar business was driven by both our inline diffusion and metallization products,” said Paul J. van der Wansem, BTU chairman and CEO.
The firm expects first-quarter revenues to be in the $24 million to $26 million range because of a softer electronics business.
BTU supplies advanced thermal processing equipment and processes to the alternative energy and electronics manufacturing markets.
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LONDON – A new publication by a electronics industry collaborative provides guidance to manufacturers and design engineers on recent RoHS changes.
The free RoHS eBook incorporates new rules invoked last September, and will eventually include a range of additional electronics and electrical products not previously covered by the European environmental legislation. It also outlines dates when medical devices and monitoring and control instruments (along with additional exemptions) will fall within scope.
The collaborative known as element14 also offers guidance on EU RoHS, China RoHS, Korea RoHS, REACH, ErP, WEEE, the Battery Directive plus state and provincial environmental laws in the US and Canada.
Register now for Virtual PCB, the industry's only live, fully interactive, Web-based conference and trade show for PCB engineers, designers, fabricators, assemblers and managers worldwide, March 8-9. www.virtual-pcb.com
TEMPE, AZ – Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in February for the 19th consecutive month, says the Institute for Supply Management. The PMI registered 61.4%, up 0.6 points, with new orders at 68%, up a slight 0.2 percentage points. Production was 66.3%, up 2.8 points. Inventories dropped 3.6 points to 48.8%, and customer inventories fell 5.5 points to 40%. Backlogs reached 59%, up 1 percentage point.