OPTICAL STORAGE MEDIA
Singulus expects market to remain weak / Steag Hamatech reports loss for 2004
While the market for recorded optical digital media – especially for DVDs – is booming, manufacturers of the machines for producing them are battling against mounting turnover problems and cheap Asian competition. Market leader Singulus Technologies (D-63796 Kahl; www.singulus.de), which claims a share of 65%, reported record figures for 2004, but chairman Roland Lacher expects “a poorer year in 2005 in terms of both sales and earnings.” The media giant´s much smaller competitor Steag Hamatech (D-75447 Sternenfels; www.steag-hamatech.com) already began feeling the pinch last year.
Singulus´ sales in 2004 rose by more than 21% to EUR 439.5m, thanks mainly to the purchase of the Dutch company ODME Mastering – now Singulus Mastering – which gave it a boost of over EUR 30m. This also gave Singulus access to the “Moldpro” injection moulding technology for future DVD generations such as “Blu-ray”. EBIT rose by 7% to EUR 73m and earnings by 6% to EUR 47.2m. Incoming orders, up 9% to a value of EUR 417.6m, also showed a positive trend. However, it seems unlikely that the boom will last. The first signs of a downturn came in Q4, when orders from Asia in particular declined significantly.
Lacher intends to counter the trend by tapping new areas of business like the coating of eyeglass lenses and semi-conductors. The first lens coating machine is to be delivered shortly, and the business is expected to become profitable this year. Altogether, sales in this segment could amount to some EUR 30m medium term, the company predicts. In semi-conductors, Singulus does not want to bear the risk of developing coatings on its own and therefore is looking for a strategic partner.
Steag Hamatech reported a loss of EUR 3.2m for 2004, compared with a profit of EUR 3.6m a year earlier, despite slightly higher sales of EUR 149m (EUR 146.9m). The slowdown in incoming orders was more pronounced than at Singulus. The company received orders for machinery worth EUR 145.9m (EUR 153m). The decline was booked to the account of the CD division, where order intake, at EUR 71.2m, was less than half the 2003 total of EUR 31.6m. By contrast, orders for DVD/R machines more than doubled, to EUR 62.5m from EUR 29.6m.
• e-Service:
Singulus annual report 2004 as PDF document (1,570 KB)
Steag Hamatech annual report 2004 as PDF document (1,023 KB)
Singulus´ sales in 2004 rose by more than 21% to EUR 439.5m, thanks mainly to the purchase of the Dutch company ODME Mastering – now Singulus Mastering – which gave it a boost of over EUR 30m. This also gave Singulus access to the “Moldpro” injection moulding technology for future DVD generations such as “Blu-ray”. EBIT rose by 7% to EUR 73m and earnings by 6% to EUR 47.2m. Incoming orders, up 9% to a value of EUR 417.6m, also showed a positive trend. However, it seems unlikely that the boom will last. The first signs of a downturn came in Q4, when orders from Asia in particular declined significantly.
Lacher intends to counter the trend by tapping new areas of business like the coating of eyeglass lenses and semi-conductors. The first lens coating machine is to be delivered shortly, and the business is expected to become profitable this year. Altogether, sales in this segment could amount to some EUR 30m medium term, the company predicts. In semi-conductors, Singulus does not want to bear the risk of developing coatings on its own and therefore is looking for a strategic partner.
Steag Hamatech reported a loss of EUR 3.2m for 2004, compared with a profit of EUR 3.6m a year earlier, despite slightly higher sales of EUR 149m (EUR 146.9m). The slowdown in incoming orders was more pronounced than at Singulus. The company received orders for machinery worth EUR 145.9m (EUR 153m). The decline was booked to the account of the CD division, where order intake, at EUR 71.2m, was less than half the 2003 total of EUR 31.6m. By contrast, orders for DVD/R machines more than doubled, to EUR 62.5m from EUR 29.6m.
• e-Service:
Singulus annual report 2004 as PDF document (1,570 KB)
Steag Hamatech annual report 2004 as PDF document (1,023 KB)
05.05.2005 Plasteurope.com [202584]
Published on 05.05.2005
German version of this article...