Continuing operations (excluding tantalum capacitors):
New orders and sales (continuing operations)
In Q2 2006 (January 1 – March 31, 2006), demand continued to develop strongly in all industries served and regions. New orders and sales increased both sequentially and year on year.
"EPCOS made positive progress in the first half of 2006," said Gerhard Pegam, President and CEO of EPCOS, at the announcement of the company's figures for Q2 2006. "Besides increasing the order intake and sales, we also significantly improved our earnings – despite the continued burden of tantalum capacitors. Now that this business has been successfully transferred to KEMET, we are more confident about the future."
Comparison with Q1 2006
New orders rose by 4% to EUR 348 million in Q2 2006, up from EUR 335 million in the previous quarter. Most of this growth came from business with products for automotive and industrial electronics, as well as with distributors. Regionally, the bulk of the increase came from Germany.
Sales were up 6% to EUR 324 million, against EUR 305 million in Q1. All regions and – with the exception of mobile communications – all industries served contributed to this growth. Sequentially, sales improved for all business segments. Capacitors and Inductors posted the largest gain of 11%. Sales of this segment's products climbed to EUR 121 million, from EUR 109 million in the previous quarter. Sales of Ceramic Components increased by 6% to EUR 103 million, from EUR 97 million in Q1 2006. In the Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Components segment, sales increased about 1% to EUR 100 million, from EUR 98 million in the first quarter of the current fiscal year.
Comparison with Q2 2005
Compared with the second quarter of fiscal 2005, both new orders and sales posted double-digit growth.
New orders surged 29%, from EUR 271 million a year ago to EUR 348 million. Double-digit growth in orders came in from every industry served and from every region. At 40%, growth was strongest in orders from component distributors and, in regional terms, from customers in Asia.
Sales increased by 17% from EUR 277 million to EUR 324 million. Sales of products to the automotive electronics industry rose by nearly 30%, which was primarily due to the higher volume of business with piezo actuators. Sales to component distributors (up 26%) and to the consumer electronics industry (up 23%) were also positive. In both industries, inventory adjustments had weighed heavily on EPCOS' business in fiscal 2005. Sales of products to the industrial electronics industry were 11% higher than a year ago. Sales of components for wireline and mobile communications reached the levels achieved in Q2 2005.
Sales were up in all regions. The strongest growth was posted by the NAFTA region (plus 30%) and Asia (plus 24%). Pronounced growth of 19% also came from Germany.
All of EPCOS' business segments likewise recorded double-digit growth year on year. Sales at Capacitors and Inductors rose from EUR 104 million a year ago to EUR 121 million, a gain of 16%. Almost all product groups contributed to this growth. In particular, capacitors delivered to a broad range of customers and inductors for automotive electronics applications experienced particularly sharp growth.
Sales at Ceramic Components rose 19% from EUR 87 million to EUR 103 million. A significant increase in the sales of piezo actuators primarily drove this growth. Moreover, sales of sensors and sensor systems – mostly to the consumer, automotive and industrial electronics industries, but also to distributors – developed well.
