News
TORONTO, Aug. 12 -- EMS provider Adeptron Technologies reported revenues of C$9.6 million for its June quarter, up from C$6 million sequentially and C$3.6 million last year.
About C$3 million came from sales from its Ottawa operations, which Adeptron acquired last quarter.
Gross margin was C$1 million, up C$900,000 from the first quarter and C$300,000 last year.
F. Michael Marti, President and CEO of Adeptron, attributed the improvement to stronger pricing and improved currency exchange rates.
SG&A expenses were C$1.4 million, or 14% of sales, down from 22% of sales sequentially and 20% last year.
"Adeptron's revenues and gross margins are increasing at a more dramatic rate than SG&A," said Marti.
Adjusted net earnings were C$58,090, vs. adjusted net losses of C$509,128 last quarter and C$23,414 last year. The GAAP net loss was C$600,000 ($0.02 per share), compared to C$1.1 million last quarter and C$500,000 in Q2 2003.
"Although we expect that the incremental growth rate in revenues for the rest of the year will be less dramatic ... we anticipate that quarterly revenue run rate will continue to build from Q2 levels," Marti said.
SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 18 -- Cautious forecasts and rising inventories at blue-chip electronics OEMs are reinforcing analyst views that the tech cycle growth is slowing.
In its weekly EMS Edge newsletter, Deutsche Bank said, "Although anecdotes from Dell, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard were not entirely consistent, commentary regarding near-term demand was relatively cautious in aggregate."
Furthermore, recent news from major Asian ODMs has been concerning. "Venture, Hon Hai and Compal all reported softer near-term sales, suggesting production trends are decelerating," wrote Chris Whitmore, an analyst in DB's equity research group. Hon Hai and Compal both reported growth but results fell below earlier guidance. Venture's second-quarter sales dropped 2% sequentially.
Cisco also guided for lower sequential growth and HP said demand slowed in July. Plus, both HP and Cisco reported lower inventory turns and higher inventories during the quarter.
"We remain concerned that the combination of growing inventories across the supply chain and slowing end-market growth will pressure earnings growth" for EMS firms, DB said. The firm believes growth rates peaked in the second and third quarters, and "the recent inventory build will result in disappointing second half 2004 and 2005 build rates for the EMS industry."
The new division, AIM Semiconductor Packaging Materials, will also supply touch-up materials and thermal interface materials, the company said in a statement.
Tamura FA System Corp. will market Speedline's Accuflex and AP Excel stencil printers under the MPM/Tamura brand, and provide service and support to Japanese customers.
"As the market leader for reflow and wave soldering equipment in Japan, Tamura's highly skilled staff understands the challenges manufacturers face throughout the assembly production process," said Pierre de Villeméjane, president and CEO of Speedline, in a press statement.
Tamura will translate software and manuals into Japanese and develop additional features specific for its Japanese customers, Tamura said.
The maker of telecom and networking gear forecast sales would be flat to up 2% sequentially, and year-on-year growth would slow to 16 to 18%.
For the just completed July quarter, router demand rose 12% sequentially and switches were up 3%. However, the company's ratio of inventories to cost-of-goods-sold (COGS) climbed sequentially, and turns dropped to 6.2, from 6.3.
In a research note published today, Deutsche Bank warned that climbing inventories among OEMs of communications equipment could shake the recovery of the EMS sector. "EMS production rates of communications gear has increased 15% since the Nov./Dec. quarter (normally flat to down 10%). We believe this is largely a result of building inventories at Cisco and other [communications] OEMs (Lucent, Ericsson, Motorola)."
Cisco buys about $4 billion worth of goods and services from North American top tier EMS vendors, according to DB, making it one of the largest EMS customers. Major suppliers to Cisco include Celestica (about 10% of revenue), Solectron (13%) and Jabil (about 15%).
"Cisco`s slowing sales growth and inventory build reinforces our
view that the peak of the current tech cycle is near," DB analyst Chris
Whitemore wrote.
Weymouth, UK - Aug. 4, 2004 - DEK (dek.com)'s latest machine for surface-mount pre-placement, the Europa, has a cycle time of less than seven seconds and total process Cpk 2.0 of ± 20mm.
According to the company, a newly designed chassis provides torsional and thermal stability and a single natural vibration frequency. A new scaleable control system increases the reliability of dramatically reduced wiring - 40% less than conventional printing systems.
Rich Heimsch, president of DEK International, notes that Europa's specification sheet describes the performance customers can expect during actual production. "Europa's Cpk 2.0 at ± 20mm is the figure for true paste on pad repeatability, measured after a full wet print cycle. Many specifications quote fiducial alignment capability only, but it is paste on pad repeatability that really matters to electronics assemblers."
The machine features an interactive user interface, with graphical indications for consumable replenishment, plus on-board help and error recovery. Its software links to DEK's Web-based support services and contains tutorials on setup, process optimization, and maintenance and applications issues.
