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28 March 2008

 

Kopin reports flat year for III-V product line

For full-year 2007 (ended December 29, 2007), maker of III-V semiconductor products and CyberDisplays (liquid crystal displays), Kopin Corp of Taunton, MA, USA says that total revenues increased to a record $98.1m, up 38% on total revenues of $71.1m for the full-year 2006, and exceeding Kopin’s guidance of $90m to $95m. The overall increase was due to CyberDisplay revenue growth of 101% over 2006 figures, while revenue from III-V products dropped slightly to $43.6m from 2006's $43.9m.

Overall net loss for 2007 was $6.6m, compared with a net loss of $2.1m in 2006. Results for 2007 and 2006 included $1.8m and $3.7m, respectively, in expenses associated with the review of Kopin’s historical stock option granting practices, now completed. 2006 also included a $1.2m gain from the sale of 200,000 shares of Micrel common stock.

Kopin also reported record total revenue of $28.9m for Q4/2007 (ended December 29, 2007), representing an increase of 62% on the $17.8m recorded for Q4/2006. However, the bulk of the growth was again due to CyberDisplay sales. Revenue from III-V products increased to $12.2m, up 35.6% on Q4/2006’s $9.0m.

Total net income for Q4/2007 was $0.3m, compared with a net loss of $2.9m for the three months ended December 30, 2006.

“With our recent installation of three of the world’s most advanced metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) reactors for our III-V product line, the expansion of our III-V manufacturing capacity is now essentially complete. By consistently producing 6-inch III-V wafers with superior uniformity, these new systems strengthen our capability to develop products for not only the wireless handset market but also for emerging applications such as public mobile radio, advanced cell phones and photovoltaic solar cells for energy applications.” said president and CEO John C.C. Fan.

“Among the products we are developing are advanced III-V high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structures,” Fan continued. “We believe our new systems are ideal to produce the yield and uniformity required for HEMT structures and the performance and efficiency necessary for solar cells. In fact, solar cells were the first products we introduced commercially in the late 1980s, and consequently we have substantial intellectual property and manufacturing know-how around this technology. New products take time to develop, and these HEMT and solar cell initiatives represent longer-term opportunities for Kopin. We believe they are technologies that Kopin is uniquely qualified to address.”

For 2008, Kopin expects revenues in the range of $105m to $115m.

See related items:

Kopin expects WiMAX to revive its HBT sales in 2008

Kopin starts shipping 6-inch HBT wafers produced in IC MOCVD systems

Kopin expects strong III-V revenues to end 2007

Search: Kopin HBTs HEMTs Solar cells

Visit: www.kopin.com