Fiber laser maker IPG Photonics Corp. reported this week that its revenues for the first quarter of 2008 increased by 27 percent, to $52.9 million, and net income increased by 23 percent to $8.1 million from the first quarter of 2007. Revenue growth for the quarter was driven by sales of fiber lasers used for materials processing applications, which increased by 34 percent over the first quarter of 2007 to $44.2 million, and "strong sales to European and Asian markets," the company said in a statement. "The growing acceptance of fiber lasers across a variety of applications, combined with our presence in the major markets for industrial lasers across the globe, resulted in another quarter of strong top- and bottom-line growth," said CEO Valentin Gapontsev, PhD. "Strong shipments in the European Union and continued expansion into the high-growth markets of Russia, India, China and South Korea more than offset the softness we experienced in the US -- which accounts for only 18 percent of our sales." Gapontsev said in the first quarter of this year, pulsed laser sales increased 73 percent over the last year, driven by strong demand for marking and photovoltaic (solar) applications. "Pulsed lasers are IPG's largest revenue generator," he said. "Gross margins in Q1 grew to 46 percent from 43 percent in the fourth quarter, due to higher absorption of fixed costs as a result of improved yields and increased production, part of which resulted in an increase in inventories. We have overcome the production issues which impacted diode yields in the fourth quarter of 2007. "In international markets," he said, "we continue to see robust growth from existing OEMs, new customers and our presence in key high-growth Asian markets. In the US and elsewhere, we are seeing substantially increased order flow in materials processing and telecommunications from the beginning of the year. Some of these orders will ship in the second quarter, and the remainder is expected to ship during the following six to nine months." For the second quarter of 2008, the company said it expects revenues in the range of $52 million to $56 million, compared with $44 million last year. Operating income increased 13 percent to $12.5 million for the first quarter of 2008, up from $11.1 million for the same period in 2007, it said. Earnings per diluted share increased 20 percent to $0.18 from $0.15 a year ago., it said. For more information, visit: www.ipgphotonics.com