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Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 07 August 2008

CLEVELAND, OH -- OM Group, Inc. announced second quarter (ending June 30, 2008). Net sales for the second quarter of 2008 was $510.8 million compared with $231.3 million in the corresponding period of 2007.

The Q2 2008 sales included $77.0 million from OM Group's newly acquired coatings and electronic technologies businesses (Electrochemicals). Excluding these acquisitions, revenue grew 88% due to higher product selling prices, increased cobalt metal resale volume, and organic volume growth in key end markets including battery and powder metallurgy.

Gross profit increased to $126.0 million in the second quarter of 2008 versus $83.7 million in the comparable 2007 quarter. The increase is attributable primarily to a higher cobalt reference price, acquisitions and greater volume.

Sales from the Specialty Chemicals segment were $152.5 million in the second quarter of 2008 compared with $78.0 million in the same quarter last year. Net sales for the segment increased to $301.6 million in the first half of 2008 from $144.7 million in the comparable 2007 period. Acquisitions and increased product selling prices were the main factors leading to the sales improvement. Operating profit was $20.8 million in the first six months of 2008 compared with $15.0 million in the same period in 2007.

According to the company, it has financial flexibility due to an unleveraged balance sheet and an improved cash flows from its operations. "This flexibility allows us to consider and evaluate a wide range of options to create long-term value for our shareholders, including strategic and transformational acquisitions and partnerships," said Joseph M. Scaminace, chairman and chief executive officer of OM Group. "We are well positioned to deliver on our promise of transforming OM Group into a leading specialty chemical company."

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 07 August 2008

SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – R&D Circuits announces Kena Pegram has joined the company as West Coast regional sales manager. Ms. Pegram will be responsible for the Western States region including, CA, OR, WA, ID, UT and NV. Before joining R&D Circuits, Ms. Pegram worked for 12 years in the semiconductor industry. Her most recent position was VP of sales and customer service for Anestel Corp, a manufacturer of sockets and interposers used to test integrated circuits.

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 07 August 2008

ROGERS, CT -- Rogers Corporation announced Q2 2008 sales of $97.7 million. The Q2 2007 sales were $97.9 million.

Printed circuit laminate sales for Q2 2008 were $29.5 million, down approximately 12% from Q2 2007. High frequency materials experienced weaker demand in low noise block down converters (LNB’s) for the Satellite TV market and in chip packaging materials for a large customer.

Rogers continued to see strength in the high reliability markets for its high frequency advanced circuit material products in radar and guidance system devices.

Rogers is expanding manufacturing capacity of high frequency advanced circuit materials on its Suzhou, China campus. This new facility is anticipated to be in production in 2010.

Rogers’ president and CEO Robert D. Wachob commented; “Second quarter results were in line with expectations and even though year-over-year quarterly sales were basically constant, we did significantly better on the bottom line this quarter. Rogers is debt-free with strong cash flow and profits and is developing many new products to meet the growing needs of our customers. As a result, I believe we are well positioned to meet the challenges that lie ahead.”

Details: Written by Staff; Category: Fab News; Published: 06 August 2008

LONDON — The Cookson Group's first-half profits rose 30% to $225 million on a 26% jump in revenues to $2.1 billion.

The electronics group reported profits of $60 million, up 2%, year-over-year on an 11% hike in sales to $640 million. However, the higher revenue was driven by extreme price inflation for tin and silver used in solder. Excluding the inflation impact and sales of precious metals related products in the chemistry product line, underlying revenue fell 1% from last year.

All figures are based on constant exchange rates.

Cookson attributed the drop in revenue to a slowdown in electronics equipment production, particularly in the US, and a decision to focus on higher margin, more value-added product lines.

The company benefited from a new factory in Monterrey, Mexico, and demand for its scrap solder recycling operation in the US. A second recycling plant, in Guangxi Province, China, is expected to come online later this year. Cookson is also moving its European solder paste production from Ashford, England, to Hungary; the transfer should be complete by early next year and will save the company about $2 million annually.

NANJANGUD, INDIA -- AT&S broke ground for its second plant in Nanjangud, India. Investments planned for this plant are €37 million ($57.2 million) in fiscal years 2008/2009 and 2009/2010.

ANAHEIM – Multi-Fineline Electronix, provider of flexible printed circuits and component assemblies, reported third-quarter net sales of $167.6 million, up 61% year-over-year.

This represents the second highest quarterly net sales in the company's history and the highest sales ever for a third quarter, the firm says. The increase in net sales was primarily a result of higher sales to three of the company's key customers, including OEMs that manufacture portable electronic devices.

Sequentially, net sales increased 2.2%, in line with the firm’s expectations. Net sales in the third quarter were positively impacted by growth in the area of smartphones.

Net income was $8.8 million, compared to a net loss of $6.7 million in the same period of 2007. This includes recognition of a $7.8 million before tax expense related to terminated acquisition costs. Net income declined 15.3% sequentially.

For the first nine months of fiscal 2008, net sales increased 51% year-over-year to $515.7 million. Net income increased to $32.8 million, compared to net income of $7,000 in the same period last year, on higher gross profit and reduced one-time charges.

For the fourth quarter, M-Flex expects net sales to be significantly higher than the third quarter.