Some Taiwan-based IC suppliers have been ramping their shipments of LED driver ICs to China thanks to the fledging LED lighting industry in the country and growing demand for LED backlight products from China-based smartphone, tablet and consumer electronic product makers. Among the IC vendors, Macroblock and On-Bright Electronics are expected to see their revenues grow over 30% sequentially in the second quarter, while fellow companies Richtek Technology and Global Mixed-mode Technology (GMT) are likely to double their shipments of LED driver ICs on qu...

As June is dawning near, LEDinside is ready to hold a grand and perfect LEDforum 2013 Guangzhou at the Chinese Export Commodities Fair Pazhou Complex, Area B, Room # 8.   LED industry has undergone big changes. Based on the potential market demands, many companies have mushroomed all over the world in recent years. However, an oversupply comes after the large capacity expansion. What’s worse, due to credit crisis, LED development in European market has slowed down. And it also has influenced Asian LED manufacturers which rely on the external ...

April 2013 prices of 40W and 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in Japan were JPY1743/unit and JPY2357/unit, respectively, showing an on-month decrease of 4% and 12.5%. April prices of 40W retrofit LED light bulbs in South Korea showed an on-month decrease of 3.8% to KRW14749/unit. Prices for 60W retrofit LED light bulbs in South Korea were KRW23742/unit in April, up 6.6% compared to March. In China, April prices of 7W and 9W LED light bulbs from domestic brands were CNY38.3/unit and CNY53.6/unit, respectively. Both prices fell compared to Mar...

Global shipments of metal-organic chemical vapour deposition (MOCVD) systems will fall by 46% year-on-year to a total of 148 units in 2013, a report forecasts, as LED chipmakers have sufficient capacity and the number of LED chips used in LED TV backlighting has been decreasing. US-based Veeco Instruments is predicted to continue dominating the MOCVD system market, with 60.2% market share in 2013, due mainly to orders from China-based firms. Germany-based Aixtron is expected to rank second, with 35.8% market share. Some China-based MOCVD system makers...

LED industry has undergone big changes. Based on the potential market demands, many companies have mushroomed all over the world in recent years. However, an oversupply comes after the large capacity expansion. What’s worse, due to credit crisis, LED development in European market has slowed down. And it also has influenced Asian LED manufacturers which rely on the external market. As a result, partial manufacturers have seen a slowing increase in their revenues. Despite the troubles, governments still sustainably promote LED lighting. The latest market report p...

Epitaxial deposition and process equipment maker Veeco Instruments Inc of Plainview, NY, USA has reported selected financial metrics and business highlights for first-quarter 2013 (excluding revenue and earnings, due to the firm’s ongoing review of revenue recognition, announced last November). Order bookings totalled $70m (down 24% on $92.3m for Q4/2012). This included: $37m from MOCVD (down 42% on $62.8m) and $6m from MBE (down 51% on $12.6m); hence LED and solar market orders together totaled $43m (down 43% on $75.4m). Data Storage orders totalled $27m (...

A Market research company says that the decline in the price of LED light sources helped to trigger growth in the market. According to the company revenues grew from $7.3 billion in 2011 to $9.4 billion in 2012, a growth of 28%. The company forecasts that the CAGR for revenues for LED Luminaires in all applications for 2012-2016 is 18%. By 2012, LED luminaires had penetrated variety of applications. The Market research company says that large scale adoption of downlighting in commercial applications drove revenues up 76% between 2011 and 2012. The Japanese commercial...

Quarterly Revenue increased 23% year-over-year to a record $349 million Quarterly Net Income increased 134% year-over-year to $22.2 million Cree, Inc. today announced revenue of $348.9 million for its third quarter of fiscal 2013, ended March 31, 2013. This represents a 23% increase compared to revenue of $284.8 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, and a 1% increase compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2013. GAAP net income for the third quarter was $22.2 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, an increase of 134% year-over-year compared to GAAP net in...

Veeco Instruments Inc. is providing select financial metrics and business highlights for the quarter ended March 31, 2013. Due to the accounting review announced on November 15, 2012, the Company is unable to report revenue and earnings information.   •    First quarter 2013 bookings were $70 million including: MOCVD $37 million, MBE $6 million (LED & Solar total $43 million), and Data Storage $27 million. •    The Company’s unaudited cash balance at March 31, 2013 was $588 million, up from $579 million at De...

Philips operational results improve by 31% to EUR 421 million; net income at EUR 162 million. Frans van Houten, CEO: “We made solid progress again in the first quarter as all sectors contributed to the 31% improvement of our operational results, clearly demonstrating the positive impact our Accelerate! transformation program is having on our company. The initiatives to improve gross margins, structurally lower our cost base and reduce our inventory levels led to a better performance in the quarter. Consumer Lifestyle sales did very well, with strong 10% growth, as our...

LED chip and component maker SemiLEDs Corp of Hsinchu, Taiwan has reported revenue of $4.8m, down 23% on $6.2m last quarter and 39% on $7.9m a year ago, for its fiscal second-quarter 2013 (to end-February). Impacted by the drop in revenue, a decline in the average selling price (ASP) of LED chips, and excess capacity charges for the firm’s LED chips, gross margin has deteriorated further, from negative 9% a year ago and negative 53% last quarter to negative 69%. “Demand has improved; however, the pricing environment for the general lighting market remains...

The LED industry has been in an oversupply following the large capacity expansion in 2011; how will the landscape shift in 2013? As the LED-related applications make their way into various areas and receive increasing interest in the Chinese, Japanese and South Korean markets, the LED industry embarks on a whole new chapter. In light of the stagnant end-market demand, fund shortage and the cease of subsidy, the Chinese LED chip makers drastically revised their capacity expansion plans. Currently, the Chinese government aims to stimulate the LED demand through its pla...

As demand for LED lighting products is heating up amid the improving global economy, Epistar is expected to see its gross margin rebound this quarter after posting a record loss last year. Due to oversupply in the LED market, which resulted in a drop in product prices, Epistar’s performance fell short of analysts’ expectation last year, JPMorgan Securities said in a note on Tuesday last week. Because of a decreased utilization rate and continual price decreases, Epistar last quarter posted a net loss of NT$1.11 billion (US$37.18 million) after booking a...

Zumtobel’s revenue has fallen by 1.8 per cent for the period May 2012 to January 2013 when compared to the same period a year before. The lighting manufacturer’s nine-month report for the 2012/13 financial year, shows a revenue drop of €17.7 million to €946.5 million (£826.1 million), when compared to €964.2 million (£841.5 million) in the previous year. Revenues from LED product sales showed strong growth, rising by 55.4 per cent to €201.1 million (previous year: €129.4 million). As a result, the share of group revenues account...

The chief executive officer of Philips North America, Greg Sebasky, has pointed out in an interview that the global market for LED will grow about 40 % in 2013.   According to him, the company sees a “growth tipping point” with the debut this year of its 60-watt equivalent LED light bulb that will retail for about $10. That will help the energy- efficient technology make up about 50 percent of Philips’ lighting sales by 2015, up from 25 percent last year. “People are starting to see lighting as a durable good,” Sebasky said, taking lig...

Rising Utilization Rates but still Limited Order Visibility Highest 2012 Order Intake and Revenues Recorded in Q4/2012 Management Focus on Cost Control and Cash Flow Continuing R&D Investments into Future Market Opportunities AIXTRON SE (ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6), a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced revenues of EUR 227.8m and an EBIT loss of EUR -132.3m for the fiscal year 2012. A slow recovery of revenues but a virtually flat order intake throughout the year reflects a relucta...

•    Green Product1 sales increased to 45% of total sales (EUR 11.3 billion) in 2012 •    Total investments in Green Innovation at EUR 569 million in 2012, mainly driven by investments in sustainable LED lighting •    Carbon reduction target achieved, with 25% decrease in operational CO2 emissions over five years   Today Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG, AEX:PHIA) reported Green Product sales of EUR 11.3 billion in 2012, marking 45% of total sales and moving the company significant...

Rubicon Technology, Inc. has reported financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2012. The Company reported fourth quarter revenue of $20.0 million as compared with $19.9 million in the prior quarter. Revenue from six-inch wafer sales showed another sequential increase to $17.5 million from $16.4 million in the prior quarter, a 7 percent increase. Due to low industry pricing for two through four inch core products, the Company decided to sell a limited quantity of those products in the quarter. Raja Parvez, President and CEO of Rubicon Technology, comm...

Pluritas, LLC, an intellectual property transaction advisory firm, is conducting the sale of a strategic LED patent portfolio from Illumitex, Inc., an LED innovator and maker of optically advanced lighting products. The Illumitex portfolio includes five patent families and 17 applications, each related to novel approaches for improving LED extraction efficiency and for chip shaping. The IP rights capture years of innovation and R&D relevant to the multi-billion-dollar market for LED chips.

Philips operational results improved by 50% to EUR 875 million, while net income was impacted by significant charges in Q4 •    Deal signed to transfer Audio, Video, Multimedia and Accessories business to Funai Electric Co., Ltd.     •    Comparable sales increased 3%; growth geographies up 10%     •    EBITA excluding restructuring and other charges increased by 50% to EUR 875 million, or 12.2% of sales; reported EBITA of EUR 50 million     •&nbs...

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE), announced revenue of $346.3 million for its second quarter of fiscal 2013, ended December 30, 2012. This represents a 14% increase compared to revenue of $304.1 million reported for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 and a 10% increase compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2013. GAAP net income for the second quarter was $20.4 million, or $0.18 per diluted share, an increase of 69% year-over-year compared to GAAP net income of $12.1 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, for the second quarter of fiscal 2012. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for...

Needham & Company reiterated a Buy rating on Cree and raised its price target to $36.00 (from $32.00). The increased price target relates to analysts' view that LED lighting has "Come of Age". "We expect initial adoption of LED will be in the high-end commercial and outdoor segments, where we believe Cree's chip performance and integration are crucial to achieving strong adoption," said analyst Y. Edwin Mok. Mok thinks Cree has an advantage that will allow it to charge premium prices and drive strong margins.  ...

Dialight saw its share price soar 38p to 1,053 as it announced a contracts bonanza that has meant doubling the sales force to keep pace with demand. The company had reported strong revenue growth in the segment in November driven by adoption of LED based lighting products. Now Dialight reveals that lighting segment revenues have grown by over 70 per cent versus the full year of 2011 and by almost 80 per cent in comparison to the second half. The sales force has more than doubled over the prior year and is expected to continue to grow strongly. Lighting sales growth has ...

LED Engin, Inc., a California-based solid-state lighting company specializing in high lumen density LED lighting components and optics, announced the successful completion of its Series E financing. As part of the Series E initial funding announced in April 2012, LED Engin was given the option of additional investment by lead investor GVT after achieving certain performance-related measures including revenue growth goals.  LED Engin successfully met all of the objectives increasing the overall funding in the round.  In parallel, LED Engin welcomes new...

Rubicon Technology, Inc. announced the closing of a three year $25 million secured revolving credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank. “This undrawn credit facility bolsters Rubicon’s strong liquidity position,” said William Weissman, Chief Financial Officer of Rubicon Technology. “We believe it is prudent to establish this additional financial flexibility for the future,” he concluded. Rubicon currently has no debt. The terms and conditions of the credit facility will be described in the company’s filings with the Securities and E...

CRS Electronics Inc. reported financial  results for the three and nine month periods ended September 30, 2012. For the three months ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported sales of $607,000 and a net loss of $1.2 million or $0.02 per share as compared to sales of $461,000 and a net loss of $158,000 or $0.00 per share in the same period one year ago. For the nine months ended September 30, 2012, the Company reported sales of $2.6 million and a net loss of $3.3 million or $0.06 per share. This compares to sales of $1.6 million and a net loss of $1.2 million or $0.03...

According to Veeco, it has filed a form 12b-25, Notification of Late Filing, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to the Company’s report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2012. Additional time is needed because the Company is in the process of evaluating the timing of recognition of revenue on the sale of certain MOCVD systems and related upgrades to these systems.   John R. Peeler, Veeco’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are currently reviewing the timing of re...

Taiwanese LED chip supplier Formosa Epitaxy Inc has announced to intend to issue as many as 120 million new shares at NT$19.6 per share to China’s Sanan Optoelectronics Co.by a private placement. Through the NT$2.35 billion (US$80.8 million) deal, Sanan Optoelectronics will acquire 19.9 percent of Formosa Epitaxy via its 100-percent owned Xiamen subsidiary and will become the firm’s largest shareholder, ahead of Japan’s Mitsui & Co, which holds 15 percent. According to Formosa Epitaxy said in a filing to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, t...

Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN), a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, RFIC, semiconductor, and optical industries, reported financial results for its third quarter ended September 30, 2012. The Company reported that third quarter revenue increased to $19.9 million from $17.0 million in the prior quarter driven by strong six-inch sapphire wafer sales. Revenue from six-inch wafer sales increased 62 percent sequentially as demand increased from both the Silicon-on-Sapphire and LED markets. Due to low industry pricing for two ...

      There is a program for Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) commercial customers in Lake County by Lake County Energy Watch, to help improve energy efficiency and save money.   The Energy Fitness Program offers lighting retrofits at no- or low-cost for customers whose electrical demand is 200 kilowats or less per month.   These retrofits are available to small businesses, nonprofit organizations and special districts, as well as city, state and federal facilities located in Lake County. The retrofits include four- and ...