IPG Photonics has said it doesn’t expect to reach the 2018 third quarter revenue guidance range it set itself at the end of July 2018. The company also said its full year revenue growth might be below the 7 per cent to 9 per cent range predicted earlier in the year.
The fibre laser firm announced that it expects revenue for the third quarter ended 30 September 2018 to be approximately $355 million to $356 million, below the $360 million to $390 million guidance range.
IPG put this down to tariff and trade-related problems, with foreign currency headwinds reducing revenue by approximately $5 million relative to the exchange rates assumed in third quarter guidance.
‘The global geopolitical and macroeconomic environment remained challenging as we progressed through the third quarter,’ said Dr Valentin Gapontsev, IPG Photonics' CEO. ‘These tariff and trade-related headwinds were the primary driver of weaker than expected performance for our business in China and Europe. The book-to-bill ratio during the third quarter was very slightly below 1.0. As a result of these factors, we believe full year revenue growth may be below the 7 per cent to 9 per cent range we provided on 31 July 2018.’
IPG grew 40 per cent in 2017, with revenue at $1.4 billion over the 12 months.
IPG expects third quarter earnings per diluted share to be $1.83 to $1.87 including a tax benefit of approximately $0.15 related to discrete items, versus guidance of $1.80 to $2.05 per share.
As IPG Photonics’ quarter-end financial review is not complete, these preliminary results are subject to adjustments.
