HAMBURG, Germany, Feb. 10 -- Rofin-Sinar Technologies Inc. reported net sales of $33.2 million for the first quarter ended December 31, 1999, an increase of 16 percent over sales in the comparable quarter of fiscal 1999. Net income for the quarter was $1.6 million, rising 336 percent from the $374,000 reported in the same period of the prior year.
Peter Wirth, company chairman and CEO, said, We are back on track with our business. Our marking division experienced record sales for the second quarter in a row due to high demand for diode-pumped laser markers in the semiconductor and electronics industry, and the market showed strong interest also in our new line of diode-pumped solid state lasers for cutting and welding. Sales of laser products for cutting and welding applications comprised 61 percent of net sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2000, versus the 39 percent accounted for by sales of laser products for marking applications; in fiscal 1999, sales were split 72 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
Rofin-Sinar Technologies recorded net sales in North America of $9.2 million, compared with the $7.5 million reported in the first quarter of fiscal 1999. In Europe and Asia, net sales totaled $24 million, compared with $21.1 million in the same period of the prior year; the company attributed this growth to strong demand for marking lasers in the semiconductor and electronics industry in Asia.