Sales of components increased to $16.8 million for Rofin-Sinar Technologies in the third quarter, ending 30 June, but this could not stem a 15 per cent decrease in overall net sales compared to the same quarter in 2011.
The third quarter saw net sales of $131.7 million, a 15 per cent decrease compared to the third quarter in 2011. The decrease was caused by a 15 per cent downturn in sales of laser products for macro applications and a further 19 per cent drop in marking and micro application laser sales. Only component sales bucked the trend.
Referring to the success of the components side of the business, Günther Braun, Rofin’s chief executive officer, said: ‘Laser diode products had a really strong quarter. The quarterly results reflect the current global industrial economic environment for conventional laser technologies. The automotive and semiconductor industries performed very well.
Braun added that encouraging statements from the Chinese machine tool industry in the spring time did not translate into substantially improved orders during the quarter. The company also gave its results for the last nine months ending 30 June. Those results showed a smaller decrease in net sales, a decrease of 8 per cent, against a comparable period in 2011.
