MOCVD system supplier Aixtron reports strong 2009 growth

March 12, 2010
With a strong order book going into 2010, Aixtron believes it can double its 2009 revenue figure of EUR 302.9m.
Aixtron GmbH, the semiconductor equipment supplier based in Aachen, Germany, has reported that its revenue for 2009 reached EUR 302.9m, an increase of EUR 28.5m, or 10%, compared to EUR 274.4m in 2008.

Aixtron is best known in the LED industry for supplying MOCVD equipment, which is used to deposit LED epitaxial layer structures. The resulting epitaxial wafers (epiwafers) are fabricated into LED chips.

The company entered the year with an order backlog of EUR 190.9m, all shippable in 2010, on the basis of which the company believes in can deliver 2010 revenue in the range of EUR 600-650 million, i.e. double the 2009 figure.

Aixtron says that its successful 2009 was achieved despite the global recession, which had a particularly negative influence on Q1/2009 revenue. However, quarterly revenue increased sequentially through the year, from EUR 46.2m in the first quarter to EUR 117.9m in the fourth quarter.

The company’s gross profit increased by 19% to EUR 134.7m in 2009, compared with EUR 112.9m in 2008.

Paul Hyland, Aixtron's president & CEO, said “The forward-looking decisions we made more than 5 years ago, namely to re-engineer our system technology into configurable modules and the decision to re-engineer our manufacturing processes and supply chain structure, have played a decisive part in our ability to react quickly and profitably to the rapid and positive changes in 2009 market conditions.

Looking into 2010 and beyond, we will, once again, make the necessary forward looking investment decisions to ensure that we have the appropriate new technology and infrastructure in place to ensure that AIXTRON remains the leading player in this marketplace during a period of projected growth.”