Monday, February 7, 2011

Veeco Reports and the Initial Reaction is Sell First, Ask Questions Later (VECO)

We won't get the kind of opportunity that PWER is going to offer up but VECO is trading down 7% at $42.00. Here's the release:
Veeco Reports Record Fourth Quarter & Full-Year 2010 Results
2011 Forecast: Revenues >$1B and >$5.00 Non-GAAP EPS


Launches MaxBright: Industry's Most Productive MOCVD System
Here's the bit that the market is reacting to:
First Quarter and Full-Year 2011 Guidance
Veeco's first quarter 2011 revenue is currently forecasted to be between $215 and $265 million. Earnings per share are currently forecasted to be between $0.94 to $1.31 on a GAAP basis and $1.02 to $1.39 on a non-GAAP basis. Please refer to the attached financial table for more details.

Commenting on Q1 2011 guidance, Mr. Peeler stated, "Q1 2011 revenues will be lower than Q4 2010 because we are planning to ship 12-20 MOCVD reactors in the new MaxBright "cluster" format, and will not be recording any revenue on these systems in the first quarter. Timing of revenue is also being impacted by the longer order-to-revenue cycle times associated with the high percentage of business currently coming from China, primarily due to customer facility readiness. The average time to convert orders to revenue is currently several months longer in China than in other regions."

"With starting backlog of $555 million, and anticipating strong first half 2011 bookings, we currently forecast that Veeco's 2011 revenues will be greater than $1 billion, resulting in non-GAAP earnings per share of greater than $5.00," continued Mr. Peeler. "We are optimistic about the future and confident that we are well positioned from a technology, product, and operational standpoint to grow our LED & Solar and Data Storage businesses in 2011 and beyond."...Full Release