INFICON with solid start and improved margins - Seite 2

INFICON reports growth in three of its four target markets. In its largest target Semiconductor & Vacuum Coating, INFICON generated sales of USD 65.2. million. This represents 42.3% of Group sales and a decline of 15.0% compared with the first quarter of 2023. The level is 20.6% below the record-high figures of the preceding fourth quarter 2023. In Asia, especially sales to China slowed slightly in the first quarter due to the general business and industry trends. The prospects are looking promising for the remainder of the year, backed by INFICON’s broad product and service offering in the smart manufacturing environment. INFICON achieved sales of USD 53.3 million with customers in the General Vacuum market. This represents 29.8% of overall sales and a plus of 4.0% over the same period of last year, yet a decline of 13.9% when compared with the last quarter of 2023 when the business with Asian and especially Chinese business was extremely strong. INFICON assesses the current sales level as solid and in line with the overall macroeconomic development. In the Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Automotive market, sales grew robustly both year-over-year (+7.5%) and quarter-on-quarter (+7.2%) to USD 32.7 million. This market therefore contributed 21.2% to the consolidated sales. The transition from combustion engines to electric drives in the automotive industry continues stably at a high, yet slower pace than in the strongly growing last quarters. The strongest sales increases were achieved in the Security & Energy market. Sales reached a new quarterly record level of USD 10.3 million or 6.7% of Group Sales. This is an increase of 49.4% over the same prior-year period and 21.2% over the preceding fourth quarter. This surge reflects especially a gradually normalizing supply chain and both strong demand in the security as well as the energy/utility sub-markets.

 

Regional sales development

Year-over-year, quarterly sales grew in Europe (USD 41.3%; +2.5%, 26.8% of Group sales) and America (USD 45.5 million; +9.4%, 29.5% of Group sales), while Asia – still the largest sales region with a sales contribution of 43.0% – reported lower figures with USD 66.4 million (-12.0%). INFICON is confident that the sales to Asian customers, mostly impacted by a slower momentum in the Semiconductor and General Vacuum market, will gradually pick up again.