Veeco Instruments has announced that Osram Opto Semiconductors has qualified Veeco's Lumina MOCVD System for production of high-end LEDs and to drive the next generation of advanced photonic devices. Being at the forefront of next generation advanced photonic technologies that require innovation and redefine the limits of the technology is at the core of Osram,” stated Lothar Mergili, COO of Osram Opto Semiconductors. “The Lumina system has proven to set new standards in terms of productivity that will meet and exceed market requirements. Veec...

Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its LED Products business unit (“Cree LED”) to SMART Global Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SGH) for up to US$ 300 million, including fixed upfront and deferred payments and contingent consideration. Mark Adams, President and CEO of SMART Global Holdings has discussed their acquisition of Cree LED. Adams indicated that he was the former CEO at Lumileds and during his time there they started down the path looking at Cree. Cree is a...

Upon closing, creates a pure-play global semiconductor powerhouse focused on providing disruptive technology solutions to high-growth segments including EV, 5G and industrial applications Transaction represents a key milestone in Cree’s transformation to focus on silicon carbide and gallium nitride devices, as well as materials Consideration includes $50 million upfront payment; $125 million seller note and up to $125 million earn-out DURHAM, N.C. – Cree, Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) today announced that the Company has entered into a definitive agree...

Taiwanese automotive LED module manufacturer Laster Tech announced its September 2020 operating results. Due to the strong shipment of automotive LED modules, its September revenue was NTD 454 million, up 24.19% MoM and 50.84% YoY. The consolidated revenue in 3Q20 was NTD 1.246 billion, up 25.34% YoY, a record high quarterly revenue for the same period in history. According to Laster Tech, the company's September revenue grew month-on-month and year-on-year despite the appreciation of the NTD exchange rate, benefiting from the increased demand from majo...

Company closes first of 3 tranches in Series D round. Backing will be used to complete product development near Grenoble and create a new display manufacturing facility based on Aledia’s proprietary technology of 3D microLEDs. Aledia, a French startup that is pioneering a disruptive technology for microLED displays, has closed an €80M first tranche of its €120M D-round financing. The company will use the proceeds to complete its product development and create the first-of-its-kind, high-volume 3D microLED manufacturing facility in the Grenoble are...

Velodyne Lidar announced on September 29 that it has completed the business combination with Graf Industrial. The LiDAR producer reported in July this year that it will go public through the combination. The two companies have closed the combination and Velodyne has became a wholly owned subsidiary of Graf which changed its name to Velodyne Lidar. Beginning on Wednesday, September 30, 2020, the common stock and warrants of Velodyne Lidar, Inc., the post-combination company, is being listed and to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticke...

Taiwan based LED companies Epistar and Lextar announced that the share conversion date of their new holding company ENNOSTAR will be delayed. The two companies originally set the date on October 20, 2020 to convert shares of both company and list ENNOSTAR. But since the case has yet pass the review procedure of the Chinese antitrust authorities, the share conversion date is now rescheduled to January 6, 2021. (Image: Pixabay) Epistar and Lextar announced that they are establishing a new holding company through share swapping with the aim to integrate reso...

Osram raised its business guidance for fiscal year 2020 since the company said it has seen strong recovery in summer, particularly in August. In the past few seasons, the German company has revised its business guidance several times, mostly revised the numbers down. However, this time the company is raising up its expectation. The Managing Board of Osram now expects a comparable revenue decline of approximately -14%, comparing to previous number of -15% to -19%. The adjusted EBITDA margin is now approximately 8%, which the company set at 3% to 6% previously. Osram also...

Daktronics announced fiscal 2021 first quarter results. The company registered net sales of US$143.6 million, operating income of $9.5 million, and net income of $7.5 million, and earnings per diluted share of $0.17. Net sales decreased by 20.3% in the first quarter of fiscal 2021 as compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2020. Net sales decreased in all business units. The change in sales primarily relates to fluctuations and related conversion to sales. Some shipping and on-site delays continue to be caused by COVID-19 related work restrictions or customer delays in readin...

Luminar announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to merge with Gores Metropoulos and once the transaction finished, the combined company will be listed on Nasdaq under “LAZR.” Luminar is set to power the introduction of highway self-driving and next-generation safety systems and is partnered with 7 of the top 10 global automakers including Volvo and Audi. Starting in 2022, Luminar’s hardware and software will be integrated into Volvo’s global vehicle platform, the foundation for their next generation of consumer vehicles. (Image:...

Cree announced financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020 ended June 28, 2020. The company posted revenues of US$205.7 million, representing an on-year drop of 18% compared to FY4Q19 and a 5% decrease compared to FY3Q20. The company also reported GAAP net loss of $39.5 million, or $0.36 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP basis, net loss was $20.0 million, or $0.18 per diluted share. For fiscal year 2020, Cree reported revenue of $903.9 million, down by 16%YoY and GAAP net loss of $191.7 million, or $1.78 per diluted share. On a non-GAAP ...

Energy Focus announced financial results for its second quarter ended June 30, 2020. The company reported net sales of US$3.3 million, up by 8.2% compared to 2Q19 and down by 11.8% sequentially from the first quarter of 2020 reflecting the shift in the timing of the shipment of a portion of a certain military contract order from the second quarter to the third quarter of 2020. Loss from operations improved by $1.2 million year-over-year, and by $0.3 million compared sequentially to the first quarter of 2020. Net loss of $4.3 million, or $(1.36) per share, inclusive of a $3.3 mi...

Equipment supplier Veeco reported its business performance of the second quarter of 2020 with revenues of US$ 98.6 million. The company also reported GAAP net loss of $ 8.3 million and Non-GAAP net income of $ 5.5 million. Veeco said it has been executing well during the pandemic and all of its production sites have been operating at or near normal capacity in the second quarter. Its Scientific and Industrial market continues to perform well driven by sales to data storage customers. Sales in LED Lighting Display & Compound Semiconductor took 16% of its reven...

Singapore based equipment supplier K&S announced financial results of its fiscal 3Q20 ended June 27, 2020. The company posted revenue of US$ 150.5 million which grown by 18.4% YoY. For the third fiscal quarter of 2020, K&S reported a gross profit of US$ 69.4 million and a gross margin of 46.1%. On the non-GAAP base, the company’s net income grew by 258.3% YoY to 12.9 million. The increased profit and revenue were boosted by the company’s recently mass produced Pixalux, which was designed to meet the high speed transfer needs in Mini LED...

Osram announced the financial results of its fiscal 3Q20. The German company said that the performance was better than expected compared to the main sales markets. For Osram’s FY 3Q20, its revenue on a comparable basis fell by 29.4% YoY to EUR 606 million (US$ 711.95 million) due to the impact of the Coronavirus crisis. EBITDA before special items was well above expectations with negative EUR 27 million (US$ 31.75 million). Osram’s Automotive business unit was impacted the most with on-year sales dropped by 35.7% to EUR 282 million (US$ ...

Samsung unveiled the financial results for the second quarter of 2020 with consolidate revenues of KRW 52.97 trillion (US$ 44.49 billion) and operating profits of KRW 8.15 trillion (US$ 6.85 billion). (Image: Samsung) Even as the spread of COVID-19 caused closures and slowdowns at stores and production sites around the world, Samsung has managed minimize the impact of the pandemic by strengthening online sales channels and optimizing costs. Quarterly operating profit rose 26% comparing to the previous quarter and grew 23% by year, thanks to firm demand for memor...

Signify announced the company’s 2020 second quarter results with sales of EUR 1.469 billion (US$ 1.7 billion). Comparable sales decreased by 22.5% due to the COVID-19 impact. However, the company still managed to maintain a profitable adjusted EBITA margin of 9%. (Image: Signify) The company also reported a net income of EUR 81 million (US$ 94.03 million) which increased by 61.5% YoY as a result of lower restructuring costs and one-time non-cash tax benefits from changes in the organizational structure. LED-based sales accounted for 80% of total ...

Semiconductor equipment provider AIXTRON published its financial results of the first half and the second quarter of 2020. The company said that it remains on track in the period despite the COVID-19 crisis. For 1H20, AIXTRON said it has received order volumes of EUR 138.4 million (US$ 160.6 million), which achieved an on-year growth of 41%. The order intake of 2Q20 came to EUR 69.6 million (US$ 80.76 million), up by 55% comparing to the same period in 2019. The main drivers of the growing customer demand for deposition equipment are the growing mar...

LG Electronics released its preliminary earnings results for the second quarter of 2020. The Korean company posted tentative consolidated revenue of KRW 12.8 trillion (US$ 10.64 billion) in the second quarter of 2020 with an operating profit of KRW 493.1 billion (US$ 409.77 billion). (Image: LG) Comparing to the number last year, LG said the sales of 2Q20 is expected to drop by 17.9% and operating income also decreased by 24.4% YoY. Comparing to the previous quarter, 2Q20 revenue would decrease by 13% and operating profit down by 54.76%. In 1Q20, LG bro...

SemiLEDs announced its financial results for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2020, ended May 31, 2020. The company posted revenues of US$1.6 million for the third quarter of FY 2020, which increased by 2% comparing to the previous quarter. GAAP net loss attributable to SemiLEDs stockholders for the third quarter of fiscal 2020 was $513 thousand, compared to a gain of $348 thousand in the second quarter of fiscal 2020, or a net loss of $0.14 per diluted share, compared to a net gain of $0.08 per diluted share for the second quarter of fiscal 2020. GAAP gross...

Since the Austrian sensing company AMS won the bid of Osram in December 2019, it has been a long journey for it to complete the acquisition of the German company. Finally, on July 6, AMS announced that it has received unconditional regulatory approval from the EU commission for the acquisition of Osram and is going to close the takeover on July 9, 2020. As the acquisition announced last year, it was stated that the merger would be subject to antitrust and foreign trade approvals by the EU. In the press release of the EU Commission, the Commission concluded that ...

Velodyne Lidar announced that it has raised US$150 million in a reverse takeover and will be combining with Graf Industrial to go public in the third quarter of the year. It is expected that Velodyne will be listed on the NYSE under the symbol of VLDR. Pursuant to the business combination, Graf will acquire Velodyne through a reverse merger in which Velodyne is ascribed an enterprise value of approximately US$1.6 billion and equity value of approximately US$1.8 billion. Following the transaction and after payment of transaction expenses, Velodyne is expected to...

With the impacts of COVID-19 outbreak, several companies across the world including Osram had withdrawn their business outlook or guidance earlier this year. As for new, following reopens in many countries, Osram provided an updated business guidance for its fiscal year 2020, starting October 2019 and ending September 2020. Osram reported on June 17, 2020, that it is expecting an on-year revenue decline of -15 to -19%, comparing to its previous guidance of comparable revenue growth between -3% and +3%. The projected adjusted EBITDA margin went down from 9% to 11% to ...

LED video display company announces the financial results of its fiscal 4Q20 and 2020 ending May 2. 2020. Daktronics reported fiscal year 2020 net sales of US$608.9 million, operating loss of US$0.2 million and net income of US$0.5 million. This compares to net sales of $569.7 million, operating loss of US$4.7 million, and net loss of US$1.0 million for fiscal 2019. Fiscal 2020 orders were US$620.8 million compared to US$608.9 million for fiscal 2019. For fiscal 4Q20, Daktronics registered net sales of US$126.1 million, operating loss of US$3.5 million, and...

U.S. company Orion Lighting posted its FY 2020 financial results ending March 31, 2020. The revenue of FY 2020 grew by 129%YoY to US$150.8 million comparing to US$65.8 million in FY 2019. The gross profit also reached US$37.1 million with an on-year growth of 155%. Net income of the fiscal year came to US$12.5 million or US$0.40 per share. EBITDA came to US$14.7 million. Orion Lighting noted that the revenue increase was mainly driven by a large LED lighting and controls retrofit project of one national account. The company said its business ha...

U.S.-based LED lighting company Energy Focus announced its 1Q20 financial resulted and posted a 19.1% YoY revenue growth despite the economic headwinds resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic. In 1Q20, the net sales of Energy Focus came to US$3.8 million, increased by 19% YoY compared to US$3.2 million in 1Q19. Commercial products accounted for 45.9% of the revenue and 54.1% of its sales came from military and maritime products, increased from 37.6% in the first quarter of 2019. Gross profit was US$1 million with a gross margin of 27.3%, which increased by 24.2...

Veeco Instrument posted financial results for the first quarter of 2020 ended March 31, 2020 and announced the recent adjustment of its Board of Directors. The equipment supplier reported that its former CEO and Chairman, John Peelter has retired and is passing the role to Richard D’Amore, who has been a General Partner of North Bridge Venture Partners and served on the Veeco Board for years. Meanwhile, Mary Jane Raymond, CFO of II-VI Incorporated, joined Veeco’s Board of Directors. Veeco’s revenue for 1Q20 grew by 5.13% YoY...

Osram announced its FY2Q20 financial results and said that it has achieved a good second quarter given the global challenges. The company registered a revenue of EUR 821 million (US$ 890.25 million), which dropped by 7.9% YoY. Despite that, the adjusted EBITDA increased by 36.8% YoY and adjusted EBITDA margin also improved by 3.6 p.p to 11.7%. Due to restructuring costs for the change in structural and personnel adjustments, Osram reported a loss of EUR 39.3 million (US$ 42.61 million). Osram CEO, Olaf Berlien, said that the company had reacted very...

Korean giants Samsung and LG announced their financial results for the first quarter of 2020 and they both reported that the COVID-19 outbreak has affected their business performance. Samsung registered a total revenue of KRW 55.33 trillion (US$ 45.11 billion) with an on-year increase of 5.6%. Operating profit is KRW 6.45 trillion (US$ 5.28 billion) decreased by 9.8% QoQ but increased by 3.2% YoY. Compared to the previous quarter 4Q19 which is usually the peak season of the year, the revenue of 1Q20 went down due to seasonality. And the on-year growth was due ...

Seoul Viosys, the subsidiary of Seoul Semiconductor, announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2020. The company registered a consolidated revenue of KRW 87 billion (US$ 71.17 million), which increased by 10% YoY. Seoul Viosys has reported boosting inquiries for its UV LED products “Violeds” for disinfection applications as the coronavirus outbreak stimulated the awareness of consumers for ‘Clean Technologies.’ As a result, despite that sales of visible LEDs declined, Seoul Viosys still reported a double-digit overall grow...