ROGERS, CT -- Rogers Corp.'s Printed Circuit Materials unit saw third-quarter sales rise 15% year-over-year to $43 million on higher demand for high-frequency materials.
The company, which also makes high performance foams,, power electronics and other materials, reported record quarterly sales of $147.6 million for the period ended Sept. 30, the third consecutive quarter the company reported record quarterly sales. Gross margin was 33.8%, in line with expectations.
Laminates were up on demand for wireless infrastructure products, global expansion of 3G and 4G systems, and radar applications for both high reliability and automotive markets. The company said high-frequency circuit materials for automotive blind spot detection systems are continuing to make progress as these systems are getting designed-in on more vehicles.
Rogers guided for fourth-quarter sales of $131 million to $138 million, citing a sharp slowdown in the wireless infrastructure market.
Rogers president and CEO Bruce D. Hoechner said, "Year-over-year sales growth in our three core businesses was about 18% for the quarter. During the quarter we also extended and expanded our relationship with Hitachi Chemical beyond the Theta digital product line. With this new arrangement in place, we have exclusive global marketing and lamination rights to all future high speed digital products made or developed by Hitachi or Rogers except for those customers that are reserved by Hitachi. As we approach the end of the year we are seeing a significant slowing in demand in the wireless infrastructure market, which historically experiences variability on a quarter-by-quarter basis. Also, we believe that the mass transit, solar and wind turbine markets will likely be weak for the next six months. Lastly, we expect the mobile internet device market to experience a typical seasonal adjustment in the fourth quarter."