Rubicon Technology, Inc. , a provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, RFIC, Semiconductor, and Optical industries, reported financial results for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2009.

The Company's revenue increased forty nine percent sequentially to $8.5 million in the fourth quarter driven by strong demand from the LED market. The Company cited improved factory utilization, increased pricing and a shift in product mix as contributors to improved gross margin, which reached twelve percent in the quarter. Diluted loss per share for the fourth quarter was $0.04 compared to $0.10 per share in the previous quarter.

Raja Parvez, President and CEO noted, "Demand from the LED market continues to strengthen, particularly the demand for LED backlighting. With LED backlighting becoming more cost competitive and with the enhanced performance, thin profile and energy efficiency they provide, we expect LED backlighting to continue to rapidly gain market share over traditional backlighting solutions."

William Weissman, Rubicon's Chief Financial Officer commented, "With the increasing demand from the LED market, the pricing environment is rapidly improving. Pricing increased approximately seven percent sequentially in the fourth quarter and we expect an increase of at least fifteen percent sequentially in the first quarter of 2010. While pricing is not yet back to pre-recession levels, we are seeing considerable improvement."

The Company also reported an increase in revenue from large diameter substrates in the quarter. Mr. Parvez continued, "Certain LED chip manufacturers have been adding significant capacity using four inch wafers. In addition, orders for six inch wafers from major LED chip manufacturers for use in R&D have nearly doubled in the quarter."

First Quarter 2010 Guidance
Commenting on the outlook for the first quarter, Mr. Weissman said, "We estimate revenue for the first quarter will be approximately $10.5 million. We expect continued improvement in profitability in the first quarter with gross margin in the mid-twenties and a return to profitability with an expected diluted earnings per share of approximately $0.03, based on a projected diluted share count of 21.5 million share."