VIENNA, AUSTRIA -- AT&S today reported fiscal first-quarter net income of 2.06 million euros ($2.9 million), down 73% from a year ago on after-effects from the Japan tsunami and delays in mobile device programs.

For the period ended June 30, revenues were down 3.1% year-over-year to 110.5 million euros ($156.8 million), and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the quarter were 4.4 million euros, down 53%.

"The first quarter presented AT&S with serious challenges," said CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer. "However, as our loading increased due to additional projects, our levels of capacity utilization in our plants will be high in the coming quarters."

AT&S is Europe's largest printed circuit board fabricator, and was ranked 23d overall in the 2010 NTI-100 list of the largest PCB manufacturers.

"The tsunami in Japan combined with delays in development projects for the next-generation of mobile devices has affected the whole industry," said Gerstenmayer. However, our Automotive business has performed very satisfactorily, and we expect the trend to continue."

He added that growth in industrial coupled with a rebound in mobile devices should bolster revenues.

"With good capacity utilization now in place, AT&S expects satisfactory performance as the current financial year progresses. The growth trend remains unchanged in all the markets in which we operate."

The company said its sees ongoing higher demand for HDI printed circuit boards in new entertainment, infotainment and navigation systems in cars. The replacement of ceramic in PCBs opens up a new area of applications for AT&S in transmission control, Gerstenmayer said.

Ed.: 1 EUR = 1.41977 USD

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