AXT, a manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, announced that Robert G. Ochrym, Vice President of Business Development, will present at the American Technology Research 2008 LED Technology Investment Forum at the New York Palace Hotel in New York, NY on Thursday, May 15th, at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Ochrym will address the requirements and outlook of gallium arsenide (GaAs) semi-conducting substrates for the LED industry.

A copy of his presentation is available on AXT's website, the company noted in a release.

The LED sector in Taiwan generally had weaker-than-expected sales in April despite players' optimism that orders would be picking up in the second quarter.

LED packagers Unity Opto Technology and Harvatek saw their April sales drop sequentially.

Unity said shipments of applications for LED backlighting dipped in April amid clients' inventory adjustments. The company's April revenues declined 4.6% sequentially to NT$292 million (US$9.58 million), which nevertheless represents a 24% on-year increase. ... Read more

Lightscape Technologies Inc. (OTCBB: LTSC), an operator of outdoor LED billboards and provider of LED solutions, today announced that it has signed an agreement with a unit of Ogilvy & Mather Group, a leading global advertising agency, in order to secure advertising contracts for Lightscape's growing LED media network in China and Hong Kong. ... Read more

Cree, Inc., a market-leading innovator of lighting-class LEDs, LED lighting retrofit solutions, and semiconductor solutions for backlighting, wireless and power applications, today announced revenue of $125.0 million for its fiscal third quarter ended March 30, 2008. This represents a 5% increase compared to the fiscal second quarter of 2008 and a 38% increase compared to revenue of $90.3 million reported for the third fiscal quarter last year. ... Read more

Shares of Cree fell in after-hours trading Tuesday after the company released fiscal third quarter earnings and a fourth quarter outlook that failed to meet analysts projections.

Durham-based Cree (Nadsaq: CREE), which sells products for light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, said net income was $5.7 million, or 6 cents a share, in the quarter. ... Read more

The total operating revenue of Taiwan LED companies this March hit $188 million, up 18.4 percent month-on-month compared to the prior month's $161 million and up 17.17 percent y-on-y. This is according to the latest statistics from LEDinside, a subsidiary division of DRAMeXchange Tech Inc.

The total operating revenue of LED crystal grain manufacturers grew 15.31 percent over the last month. Operating revenues of LED-packaging manufactures climbed 20.89 percent from February's figures. ... Read more

Most of us are familiar with light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, if for no other reason than that we might have worn a way-cool LED watch back in the 1970s. Well, LEDs have come a long way since then; these days, they represent the next generation of lighting technology that has the likes of General Electric (NYSE: GE) and Philips scrambling to scoop up LED manufacturers. ... Read more