- Sales: EUR 279 million; up 6% sequentially; down 24% year on year
- EBIT: minus EUR 24 million (Q2 2009: minus EUR 42 million; Q3 2008: plus EUR 28 million)
- Q4 2009: Further improvement in sales and earnings expected
1. Q3 2009
In the third quarter of fiscal 2009 (April 1 through June 30, 2009), EPCOS’ business development improved sequentially but was still down year on year.
Sequentially, sales rose 6 percent to EUR 279 million. Compared to the previous quarter, the EBIT loss (earnings before interest and tax) was reduced by EUR 18 million to minus EUR 24 million.
2. Sales
2.1. Comparison with Q2 2009
| EUR million | Q2 2009 | ± | Q3 2009 |
| Sales | 263 | +6% | 279 |
Sequentially, sales to automotive electronics customers increased by nearly 20 percent in Q3 2009 – the strongest gain in any of the industries served, albeit from a very low level. One reason for this increase is that customers have now refilled the inventories of components that they had reduced in some cases excessively in the preceding quarters. Furthermore, Government subsidy programs revived demand for new cars. As a result, automobile manufacturers raised their production volumes and thus also increased demand for electronic components.
Sales of products both for consumer electronics and for information and communication technology increased by about 10 percent. Business with distributors remained more or less stable. Only sales with products for industrial electronics applications weakened further. A drop in demand for components from manufacturers of industrial machinery and systems was responsible for this decline. By contrast, sales of products for energy technology and lighting systems remained stable.
Regionally, sales grew strongest by about 20 percent in Asia. This gain reflects positive business development with products for consumer electronics and information and communication technology. Sales in Germany posted single-digit growth, primarily due to revived business with automotive electronics customers. Other European countries posted a single-digit decline in sales. Sales in the NAFTA region fell by about 15 percent.
Sales by business segment
| EUR million | Q2 2009 | ± | Q3 2009 |
| Capacitors and Inductors | 116 | +1% | 118 |
| Ceramic Components | 71 | +9% | 77 |
| SAW Components | 76 | +10% | 84 |
Sales at the Capacitors and Inductors segment were up 1 percent to EUR 118 million. At Ceramic Components, sales rose 9 percent to EUR 77 million. In both cases, the main driver of this positive development was the increase in demand for components for use in automotive electronics applications.
Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) Components experienced the strongest growth as sales climbed 10 percent to EUR 84 million. Stronger demand for multimedia filters and for filters and modules used in mobile communication devices was the reason for this growth.
