Electronic devices haven't exactly been flying off the shelf recently, which explains the challenging first quarter at AZ Electronic Materials. But there's clear evidence that the trough has been reached and AZ has a strong track record of beating the market when the tide turns.
Revenue fell 5 per cent at constant currency rates to $184m (£113m) in the three months to March, with "softness" in the core microchip division trimming sales there to $128m. But orders rose sequentially in January, February and March, and both the integrated circuit and Optronics businesses have done well in April, too. AZ now predicts sequential quarterly growth for the rest of 2012, driven largely by Asia and China. Customers such as LG, Apple and AZ's largest, Samsung, have all posted strong results, and several clients are increasing wafer capacity and utilisation.
