Rubicon Technology, a leading provider of sapphire substrates and products to the LED, semiconductor, and optical industries, today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2015.

The Company reported first quarter revenue of $8.9 million which was consistent with the prior quarter revenue and reduced its loss per share despite continued weakness in the LED market. Demand for the Company’s two-inch sapphire cores, primarily used in the mobile device market, increased in the period but was offset in part by lower revenue from four-inch LED core sales. The Company continued qualifying its large diameter PSS wafers and believes that PSS revenue will ramp in the second half of the year. A table with the breakdown of revenue is included with this press release.

Loss per share in the first quarter was $0.32 as compared with prior quarter loss of $0.36.

The Company also reviewed the status on key objectives for 2015, which include aggressively pursuing the potential of its PSS product, targeting high margin optical applications and driving down product costs. William Weissman, Rubicon’s CEO, commented, “The sapphire market continues to be very challenging but the actions we are taking during this difficult time in the market will position the Company to drive better margins from a more diverse set of products once the market improves.”

Second Quarter 2015 Guidance

The Company expects second quarter revenue and loss per share to be similar to the first quarter. While core sale volumes will likely be higher, total revenue is expected to be similar to the first quarter due to additional pricing pressure, particularly on two-inch material. Loss per share is also expected to be similar to the first quarter with cost reductions offsetting the additional price pressure. Commenting on the Company’s outlook, Weissman said, “While we expect second quarter results to be comparable to the first quarter, we have visibility into growing PSS volumes in the second half of the year. With increased wafer revenue in combination with reducing product costs, we expect a meaningful improvement in operating results by the end of the year.”