U.S. LED manufacturer Cree’s stocks dropped to US $41.1 recently, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stocks from buy to neutral, according to a report by China Post. As Cree’s lighting revenue increases, Taiwanese manufacturers believe Cree’s business focus is turning towards downstream.

Refond Optoelectronics recently announced its largest shareholder and company CEO Gong Weibin has sold out 5 million stocks, or about 2.29 percent of shares on Sept. 11, 2014, according to a Securities Times report.

Roshow Technology is under China’s Securities Regulatory Commission’s (CSRC) watchful eye for violating financial regulations again, according to a National Business Daily report. In April, the company’s former Board Secretary Chai Shen was arrested for suspected insider trading.

The market speculated whether GE will sell its lighting division after the company recently sold the home appliance division for US $3.3 billion to Swedish company Electrolux, according to a Lighting report.

San’an Opto board has approved an equity share transfer agreement signed with Cher Detank.

On Sept. 5, 2014, Chinese LED manufacturer Honglitronic announced it signed an “investment partnership agreement” with Nanchang City government in Jiangxi Province, China, and is currently constructing a new LED manufacturing base in the city. The investment was approved by the company’s board of trustees in a recent meeting, according to a Securities Times report.

Lextar Electronics set another new revenue record last month, after three consecutive months of growth drove up revenue by 14.7 percent YoY to NT $1.42 billion (US $50 million), according to a UDN report. On a monthly basis, the company’s growth in August was only up 0.3 percent compared to July 2014.

Epistar and FOREPI stockholders have approved the proposed merger between the two companies today, according to a report by Cynes.com. FOREPI stocks will be swapped at a rate of 3.448 per Epistar share. 

In the last article, LEDinside summarized upstream Chinese LED manufacturers performance during first half of 2014, now it is time to inspect midstream and downstream sectors.

With many LED manufacturers releasing their latest revenue performance in August 2014, LEDinside will now review and rate their performance as “excellent”, “pass” or “fail”.

Taiwanese LED stocks plunged on Aug. 21, 2014 over rumors of Chinese government’s intention to raise LED tariffs. To clarify market rumors, LED manufacturers Lite-On, Everlight, Epistar and Unity Opto all stated they did not receive any notices regarding increased tariffs from Chinese authorities, and an uptick in tariffs would have limited impact since they all had LED factories in China. These Taiwanese LED manufacturers also emphasized delivering good revenue performances for August 2014.

Revolution Lighting Technologies (“Revolution Lighting”) announced that it has entered into a three year loan and security agreement with Bank of America. The agreement allows Revolution Lighting to borrow up to US $25 million on a revolving basis.

Lextar Electronics Corp (Lextar) today reported consolidated revenue for the second quarter of 2014 of NT$ 3.8 billion (US $130 million), up 17.7 percent from previous quarter. Consolidated gross margin was 14.5 percent, with a 2 percent QoQ growth. Net profit for 2Q 2014 was NT$ 163 million; a basic EPS for 2Q was NT$ 0.32. 

Cree, a market leader in LED lighting, today announced revenue of US $436 million for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2014, ended June 29, 2014. This represents a 16 percent increase compared to revenue of US $375 million reported for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, and an 8 percent increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2014. GAAP net income for the fourth quarter was US $30 million, or US $0.24 per diluted share, an increase of 6 percent year-over-year compared to GAAP net income of US $28 million, or US $0.23 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013.

Rubicon Technology, a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, semiconductor, and optical industries, reported financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Universal Display Corporation, enabling energy-efficient displays and lighting with itsUniversalPHOLED® technology and materials, today reported financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014.

Noribachi is excited to announce key achievements for the first half of 2014, which include new distribution programs, product advancements and substantial revenue growth.

Veeco Instruments announced its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2014. Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. Please refer to the attached table for details of the reconciliation between GAAP operating results and Non-GAAP operating results.

Major LED EPI-wafer and chip manufacturer Epistar’s revenue was up 30 percent to NT $ 8.13 billion (US $270 million) during second quarter of 2014. Growing backlight and lighting demands have benefited the company, but financial results for first half of 2014 might still be negative, due to huge losses incurred during first quarter, according to a Money DJ report. Third quarter 2014 financial results will be cushioned by the arrival of the peak season, and is estimated to assist the company in maintaining high profits throughout the season. 

Taiwanese LED lighting manufacturer Lite-On Technology has joined the ranks of two other Taiwanese LED manufacturers’ in selling its 3,900 shares in Epistar, according to a UDN report.

AIXTRON, a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced revenues of EUR 46.2 million (US $62.06 million) for the second quarter of 2014, 5 percent higher sequentially (Q1/2014: EUR 43.9 million) and 2 percent higher compared to one year ago (Q2/2013: EUR 45.3 million). Q2/2014 EBIT at EUR -10.6 million (Q2/2013; EUR -9.8 million) and net result at EUR -11.6 million (Q2/2013: EUR -11.8 million) were both also broadly unchanged year-on-year.

Dialight plc ("Dialight" or the "Group"), the UK-based leader in applied LED technology, announces its unaudited results for the six months ended 30 June 2014. 

The sapphire industry has seen completely different outcomes among application markets this year, according to a recent United Daily News (UDN) report.

The markets GT Advanced Technology (GTAT) are involved in include LEDs, smart phones, and solar panels are all multi-billion dollar opportunities with accelerating growth. Each of these markets is driving demand for specialized crystals such as polysilicon, photovoltaic, and sapphire crystals.

Major Taiwanese LED package manufacturer Everlight delivered a solid performance in 2Q14, and is likely to set new revenue records in the following quarter as the industry enters conventional peak season, according to a Money DJ report.

Philips lighting comparable sales increased 1 percent year-on-year. LED-based sales grew 43 percent and now represent 36 percent of total Lighting sales, compared to 25 percent in Q2 2013. The EBITA margin, excluding restructuring and acquisition related charges and other items, improved to 8.6 percent, an increase of 0.5 percentage points year-on-year.

Over 80 percent of Chinese LED companies have reported good profits in first half of 2014, according to data compiled by Shanghai Securities News.

Top Taiwanese LED manufacturers Epistar and Everlight delivered strong revenue performances in 2Q14, according to statistics compiled by Chinese media Sinai.

GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT), announced a realignment of its manufacturing, engineering and supply chain resources to optimize effectiveness across its increasingly diversified business portfolio. The actions taken will align previously centralized personnel and operational resources directly with the company's various businesses, which include the rapidly ramping Arizona based sapphire materials business and expanding equipment businesses with applications ranging from solar and LED to power electronics, consumer electronics and industrial.

Top Taiwanese LED chip manufacturers Epistar and FOREPI have officially merged, the two companies announced at a joint press conference held in Taipei, Taiwan on June 30, 2014. The two companies announced the merger will integrate the two companies resources, production capacity, and staff to meet market demands and improve revenue performances.