GARBSEN, GERMANY – LPKF today reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance as record first-half orders suggest the year-to-date falloff in sales will pick up. 

Revenue at the maker of printed circuit board and assembly process equipment in the first six months was EUR 45.6 million, down 35% from the prior year. EBIT of EUR 1.6 million was also lower than last year’s (EUR 15 million). 

Incoming orders, however, continued to increase in the second quarter, reaching EUR 79.7 million after six months, up 41% year-over-year. The book-to-bill ratio was 1.7, meaning EUR 170 of orders was placed for every EUR 100 worth of product shipped.

LPKF's board forecast the company would generate revenue of EUR 132 million to EUR 140 million for 2014, assuming stable performance by the global economy. 

“In contrast to the previous year, in 2014 it was only during the first half-year that we received significant orders which are necessary to reach our targets. This naturally makes it much more of a challenge to meet our own revenue and earnings targets by the end of the year. However, given the high volume of incoming orders, this should still be possible,” said Dr. Ingo Bretthauer, CEO. 

Orders on hand in the entire group rose just under 150% in the first six months, reaching a new record of EUR 51.8 million. Laser direct structuring (LDS) and solar cell structuring systems were particularly strong in the first half.

Moreover, the board expects revenue to grow an average of approximately 10% per year through 2017.