ROFIN-SINAR Reports Results for Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2010

PLYMOUTH, Mich. and HAMBURG, Germany, May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ROFIN-SINAR Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: RSTI), one of the world's leading developers and manufacturers of high-performance laser beam sources and laser-based solutions, today announced results for its second fiscal quarter and six months ended March 31, 2010.

"Our second quarter results are encouraging, with order entry, sales and net income increasing by 75%, 27% and 299%, respectively, in comparison to the second quarter of last fiscal year. These results reflect both an improving business climate for industrial laser material processing applications as well as the successful execution of our strategy to capitalize on our broad product portfolio and our global presence. We experienced strong demand for our macro products from the machine tool industry, and our micro and marking business was positively impacted by increased orders from the medical device, semiconductor and electronics markets," commented Gunther Braun, CEO and President of RSTI. "The increased backlog and the ongoing sales activities provide a foundation for solid performance in future quarters."

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Second Quarter

Net sales totaled $95.9 million for the second quarter ended March 31, 2010, a 27%, or $20.3 million, increase from the comparable quarter of fiscal 2009. The weakening of the US dollar, mainly against the Euro, resulted in an increase in net sales of $4.3 million in the second quarter. Gross profit totaled $37.2 million, or 39% of net sales, compared to $27.9 million, or 37% of net sales, in the same period last fiscal year. RSTI net income amounted to $4.7 million, or 5% of net sales, compared to $1.2 million, or 2% of net sales, in the second quarter of fiscal year 2009. The diluted per share calculation equaled $0.16 for the quarter based upon 29.5 million weighted-average common shares outstanding, compared to the diluted per share calculation of $0.04 based upon 28.9 million weighted-average common shares outstanding for the same period last fiscal year.

Comparing the second fiscal quarters 2010 and 2009, SG&A increased by $2.4 million to $23.2 million, representing 24% of net sales and second quarter R&D expenses increased by $0.3 million to $7.8 million, representing 8% of net sales.

Sales of laser products used for macro applications increased by 32% to $39.9 million, accounting for 41% of total sales. Sales of lasers for marking and micro applications increased by 31% to $45.7 million and represented 48% of total sales. Sales of components stayed flat with $10.3 million and represented 11% of total sales.

Six Months

For the six months ended March 31, 2010, net sales totaled $188.9 million, an increase of $6.3 million, or 3%, over the comparable period in 2009. The weakening of the US dollar, mainly against the Euro, resulted in an increase in net sales of $9.7 million for the six month period. Gross profit for the period was $73.1 million, $2.4 million higher than the same period in 2009. RSTI net income for the six month period ended March 31, 2010, totaled $8.2 million. The diluted per share calculation equaled $0.28 for the six month period based upon 29.5 million weighted-average common shares outstanding.

Net sales of lasers for macro applications increased by $9.9 million, or 14%, to $81.5 million, while net sales of lasers for marking and micro applications decreased by $2.0 million, or 2%, to $87.6 million. Sales of components decreased by $1.5 million, or 7%, to $19.8 million from the comparable period in fiscal year 2009.

On a geographical basis, net sales in North America in the first six months decreased by 7% and totaled $33.4 million (2009: $35.8 million). In Europe, net sales decreased by 11% to $98.0 million (2009: $109.9 million) and in Asia, net sales increased by 56% to $57.5 million (2009: $36.9 million).  

Order entry for the quarter increased by 75% to $108.2 million compared to the second quarter last fiscal year and resulted in a backlog of $106.7 million at March 31, 2010, mainly for laser products.

Other Developments -  Share Buyback

The Board of Directors yesterday authorized the Company to initiate a share buyback of up to $30.0 million of the Company's Common Stock over the next twelve months, subject to market conditions. The shares may be repurchased from time to time in open market transactions or privately negotiated transactions at the Company's discretion.

With operational headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan, and Hamburg, Germany, ROFIN-SINAR Technologies Inc. designs, develops, engineers and manufactures laser sources and laser-based system solutions for a wide range of applications. With production facilities in the US, Germany, UK, Sweden, Finland, Singapore and China, ROFIN-SINAR is one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of industrial lasers and currently has more than 33,000 laser units installed worldwide and serves more than 3,000 customers. ROFIN-SINAR's shares trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol RSTI and are listed in Germany in the "Prime Standard" segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under ISIN US7750431022. Additional information is available on ROFIN-SINAR's home page: http://www.rofin.com.

A conference call is scheduled for 11:00 AM Eastern, today, Thursday, May 6, 2010. This call is also being broadcast live over the internet in listen-only mode. For a live webcast, please go to http://www.rofin.com at least 10 minutes prior to the call in order to download and install any necessary software. (For more information, please contact Delia Cannan at Taylor Rafferty in New York at +1-212-889-4350 or Emilia Whitbread at Taylor Rafferty in London at +44(0) 207 614 2900).

The Company's conference call will include discussions relative to the current quarter results and some comments regarding forward-looking guidance on future operating performance.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act.

Certain information in this press release that relates to future plans, events or performance, including statements such as "the increased backlog and the ongoing sales activities provide a foundation for solid performance in future quarters" is forward-looking and is subject to important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ. Actual results could differ materially based on numerous factors, including currency risk, competition, risk relating to sales growth in CO2, diode, and solid-state lasers, cyclicality, conflicting patents and other intellectual property rights of Fourth parties, potential infringement claims and future capital requirements, as well as other factors set forth in our annual report on form 10-K. These forward-looking statements represent the Company's best judgment as of the date of this release based in part on preliminary information and certain assumptions which management believes to be reasonable. The Company disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

SOURCE ROFIN-SINAR Technologies Inc.