Roth & Rau, a subsidiary of Meyer Burger, reported a 50% drop in revenue for 2013 compared to the previous year, with increased losses.
The company released preliminary figures for 2013 that characterised the general weak capital spending environment within the PV manufacturing sector throughout most of the year.
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Roth & Rau’s revenue in 2013 was €77 million, down 50% from €154.1 million in 2012. Preliminary EBIT loss, after depreciation was €52.6 million, compared to an EBIT loss of €39.8 million in 2012. The preliminary consolidated results culminate in a €54.6 million loss in 2013, compared to a loss of €40.6 million in 2012.
New orders rebound
Roth & Rau noted that in the fourth quarter of 2013, new PV equipment orders started to rebound from the lows from the previous quarters. Orders for the first nine-months of the year totalled €43.1 million, but order intake in the fourth quarter alone totalled €35.6 million.
In December, 2013 Meyer Burger announced that a major solar cell manufacturer based in Asia has placed its first order with Meyer Roth & Rau for its ‘Heterojunction’ technology that combines amorphous silicon thin-film layers to both sides of monocrystalline silicon wafers, using Roth & Rau’s ‘HELiA’ PECVD and ‘HELiA’ PVD coating systems. The deal was reported to have been worth around CHF14 million (US$15.7 million).
Separately, Meyer Burger said recently that it expected group-wide new order intake for 2013 to have beeen in the range of CHF240 to 260 million (US$268 million to US$290 million) in 2013, compared to CHF223.4 million (US$249 million) in 2012.