AT&S sales in Mobile Devices reach new record high

Citation

(2012), "AT&S sales in Mobile Devices reach new record high", Circuit World, Vol. 38 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/cw.2012.21738baa.004

AT&S sales in Mobile Devices reach new record high

Article Type: Industry news From: Circuit World, Volume 38, Issue 2

Mobile Devices’ sales for the third quarter reached a new record high of about EUR 83 million. Revenues for the first three quarters of the year amounted to EUR 372 million. In January, Medical Segment saw its first high-value printed circuit boards for pacemakers enter into series production.

The AT&S Group reported a turnover of EUR 130 million in the third quarter, following on from the strong performance of the previous quarter. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to about EUR 12.1 million, for earnings per share of 34 cents.

“The Mobile Devices segment’s sales increased significantly against the second quarter, leading to the highest sales in the history of our Shanghai plant. This performance is even more gratifying given that sales to some customers fell short of expectations in the run up to Christmas. We were also confronted with shifts in deliveries to a number of customers, a development which was reflected in both lower sales and increased inventories. Industrial is continuing to report a downturn in sales, largely owing to the current climate in European markets. Order intake from automotive component suppliers has remained stable. In light of the challenging environment we are still satisfied with our performance in the third quarter,” explains AT&S CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer (Table I).

Table I The results in detail

Mr Gerstenmayer gives his view on the outlook: “Despite our success in Mobile Devices and our customer diversification programme, we will not be able to fully make up for the shortfall from the first quarter. This was partly due to events in Japan and the enduring financial and debt crisis in Europe, both of which had a direct impact on our industrial business. In light of continued uncertainty on financial markets forecast remain difficult. We are targeting revenues for the year in the amount of EUR 500 million. We expect an EBIT margin between eight and nine per cent. Investment volumes will remain unchanged at about EUR 130 million for the current financial year. However, the fundamentals of our markets have not changed, showing attractive growth rates mid- and long-term.”

First patient fitted with AT&S pacemaker PCB

AT&S’ Medical Segment unit achieved a notable strategic coup in January, with delivery of the first pacemakers to enter into series production featuring highly complex AT&S printed circuit boards. The customer is an international market leader in this area.

AT&S is the only printed circuit board manufacturer in Europe to achieve certification for medical products according to the EN ISO 13485* standard, meaning that the group already meets the strictest quality management criteria. “This certification is a clear demonstration to our customers that our printed circuit board manufacturing systems conform to the highest technological requirements worldwide,” CEO Andreas Gerstenmayer confirms.

Note: *EN ISO 13485 is an internationally recognised standard that defines the requirements for the quality management systems used by companies which develop, manufacture, install or maintain medical products. It can be used by internal and external entities, including certification bodies, to determine an organisation’s ability to comply with regulatory requirements and customer specifications.