BTU Intl net loss widens in Q3 2012

Oct 31, 2012 - US thermal processing equipment supplier BTU International (NASDAQ:BTUI) on Tuesday reported a net loss of USD 2.4 million (EUR 1.8m) for the third quarter of 2012, compared to USD 2.2 million a year earlier.

The company, which manufactures equipment for the making of solar cells, nuclear fuel, printed circuit board assemblies and semiconductor packaging, posted a diluted loss per share of USD 0.25, compared to USD 0.23 for the year-ago period.

Sales dropped by 16.2% year-on-year to USD 14.1 million.

In the first half of 2012, BTU suffered from overcapacity in the solar power sector. Now its involvement in the sector is concentrated on cooperation with solar cell makers to boost cell efficiencies at a lower cost and on new technology applications, chairman and chief executive Paul J van der Wansem, said. "We believe that longer term, capital investment in solar equipment will return and grow as increased demand starts to balance with capacity," van der Wansem added.

BTU said it was on target with its development projects for new products in the electronics-assembly and solar cell processing units. Nevertheless, it expects its fourth-quarter operating result to suffer from factory under-utilisation. The firm also guided for revenues of USD 13 million-14 million for the October-December quarter.

In the first nine months of 2012 the company saw its net loss deepen to USD 6.6 million from USD 400,000 on a yearly basis. Revenue fell to USD 45 million from USD 61.3 million.

(USD 1.0 = EUR 0.769)

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