2019 full-year earnings growth versus 2018

Bezons, April 22, 2020 – 5:45pm – RIBER, a global market leader for semiconductor industry equipment, is releasing its full-year earnings for 2019.

(€m – at December 31)	2019	2018	Change
Revenues	33,4	31,3	+ 7 %
MBE systems revenues	23,0	9,6	+ 140 %
Evaporators revenues	1,0	11,6	– 91 %
Services and accessories revenues	9,4	10,1	– 7 %
Gross margin % of revenues	9,9 29,6 %	11,1 35,6 %	– €1,2m
Income from ordinary operations % of revenues	0,9 2,7 %	0,1 0,4 %	+ €0,8m
Operating income % of revenues	0,9 2,7 %	0,0 0,0 %	+ €0,9m
Net income % of revenues	1,1 3,3 %	0,3 1,0 %	+ €0,8m

Revenues

Full-year revenues came to €33.4m for 2019, up 7% year-on-year. MBE system sales, driven by the development of 5G, show 140% growth. This progress offset the flat level of evaporator sales, impacted by the lack of investment in the OLED screen industry. Sales of services and accessories decreased slightly compared to 2018 (-€0.7m).

Earnings

Operating income climbed to €0.9m, a significant improvement compared with 2018.

The change in revenues for each product line and the €0.5m of non-recurring commissioning costs contributed to the €1.2m contraction in the gross margin for the year (€9.9m in 2019 versus €11.1m in 2018).

Overheads show a significant decrease of €2m (€9m in 2019 versus €11m in 2018), linked to the €1.4m reduction in administrative costs, of which €1.1m of non-recurring costs in 2018. Sales and marketing costs are stable. Gross R&D effort amounts to €2.4m at the same level as in 2018 Net income represents €1.1m, compared with €0.3m for 2018, up €0.8m.

Cash flow and balance sheet

The cash position at end-December 2019 is positive, with €5.9m, up €3.4m from the end of December 2018.
This growth reflects the reduction in inventory and the favorable position for deposits received on orders at end-2019, as well as the good level of the Company’s cash flow from operations.

Shareholders’ equity represents €19.2m, stable compared with 2018.

Order book

The order book at December 31, 2019 remained high at €28.7m. The MBE systems order book (€21.8m) includes 12 machines to be delivered in 2020, with five production units. The order book for services and accessories is stable year-on-year at €6.9m.

Outlook for 2020

In the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, RIBER has adapted its organization in order to minimize the impact of this health crisis on its business. The Company has taken all the measures needed to ensure the safety of its staff and continue operating.

Thanks to the actions rolled out since March 13, RIBER has been able to keep almost all its staff operational, working either from home or on site. More specifically, the Company is still able to produce and deliver, while continuing to develop its strategic projects. However, the Company faces a slowdown in its commercial activity, with certain orders deferred, especially in China, RIBER’s leading region, where the 5G market is still very buoyant.

Alongside this, the Company is continuing to closely monitor its levels of cash and it intends to use some of the support measures put in place by the public authorities.

Distribution of amounts drawn against the “issue premium” account

The Executive Board will submit a proposal to shareholders at the General Meeting on June 23, 2020 to approve a cash payout based on reimbursing part of the issue premium for €0.03 per share. It will be released for payment on June 30.

General Meeting held as a closed session

On account of the lockdown measures and restrictions on movement, the General Meeting on June 23, 2020 will exceptionally be held as a closed session, without shareholders being physically present. Shareholders will be encouraged to vote by email or to appoint the General Meeting chairman to represent them.

Next date

• April 30, 2020: 2020 first-quarter revenues and 2019 annual financial report
• June 23, 2020: General Meeting held as a closed session

The annual financial statements were approved by the Executive Board on April 21, 2020, and have also been approved by the Supervisory Board. They will be incorporated into the 2019 annual financial report, which will be available from April 30, 2020 in French on the Company’s website (www.riber.com).

Posted on Wednesday, April 22, 2020 - 17:45 pm