Last close As at 05/08/2026
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Research: TMT
A doubling in revenues from MBE systems during FY19 compensated for a reduction in evaporator sales and supported an improvement in reported EBIT from €0.0m to €0.9m. Order cover for FY20 is good and management does not anticipate that the COVID-19 pandemic will affect deliveries for FY20 overall, although performance will be second-half weighted. We will leave our FY20 estimates unchanged until the detailed FY19 accounts are released at the end of April.
Written by
Riber |
MBE system sales supported FY19 recovery |
FY19 preliminary results |
Tech hardware & equipment |
27 April 2020 |
Share price performance
Business description
Analysts
Riber is a research client of Edison Investment Research Limited |
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A doubling in revenues from MBE systems during FY19 compensated for a reduction in evaporator sales and supported an improvement in reported EBIT from €0.0m to €0.9m. Order cover for FY20 is good and management does not anticipate that the COVID-19 pandemic will affect deliveries for FY20 overall, although performance will be second-half weighted. We will leave our FY20 estimates unchanged until the detailed FY19 accounts are released at the end of April.
Year end |
Revenue |
EBIT |
PAT |
DPS |
P/E |
Yield |
12/17 |
30.5 |
3.8 |
4.1 |
0.05 |
7.3 |
3.6 |
12/18 |
31.3 |
0.0 |
0.3 |
0.05 |
99.2 |
3.6 |
12/19 |
33.4 |
0.9 |
1.1 |
0.03 |
27.0 |
2.1 |
12/20e |
37.7 |
3.0 |
3.0 |
0.05 |
9.9 |
3.6 |
Source: Company data, Edison Investment Research estimates
As announced in January, total revenues grew by 7% year-on-year to €33.4m, with a more than doubling in revenues from molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) systems offsetting substantially lower evaporator sales. Total sales were below our €35.3m estimate because billing issues affected sales of services and accessories during Q4. Gross margin dropped from 35.6% to 29.6%, reflecting a lower proportion of evaporators. Indirect costs fell by €2m, primarily because FY18 exceptional items included the €1.1m cost of the allocation of shares for a staff bonus scheme. Reported EBIT recovered sharply (from €0.0m to €0.9m), while not reaching our €1.5m estimate because of production inefficiencies, which have been resolved. Cash generation was strong, with net cash increasing by €3.4m during FY19 to €5.9m at the year end.
The €28.7m FY19 year-end order book was comprised of €21.8m for MBE systems, representing 12 machines for delivery in FY20, five of which are larger production systems, and €6.9m for services and accessories. Riber’s manufacturing facility has remained operational through the COVID-19 pandemic, although supplier issues may cause some deliveries to slip into H220. Travel restrictions are causing delays in signing contracts, particularly with customers in China. Management does not expect this to have an impact on deliveries for FY20 overall, but to accentuate the second-half performance weighting. Since Riber’s MBE systems are used in research on new materials and for the production of electronic and optoelectronic devices used in communications networks, demand remains buoyant at present but may be impaired longer term if investment is affected by a global recession.
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Research: Investment Companies
Fidelity Japan Trust (FJV) manager Nicholas Price, in response to the COVID-19-driven global market sell-off, is committed to ‘finding the new winners’. The trust has a significant weighting to technology-enabled sectors, where Japan offers many world-leading companies in areas such as factory automation, precision instruments and semiconductors. However, the manager is also taking another look at oversold services companies and more traditional areas such as retailing and leisure, where extremely depressed valuations may offer a mid- to long-term opportunity.