IPG continues to ride growth track

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By Rick Saia

Fiber-laser maker IPG Photonics of Oxford reported first-quarter revenue growth of 20 percent and profit growth of 15 percent, the company announced today.

The growth in revenue, from $142 million in the first quarter of 2013 to $171 million, beat analysts’ expectations, according to Briefing.com, while the reported profits - $40.5 million, or 77 cents per share – were in line with expectations.

Sales for the company’s materials processing products grew 22 percent. Meanwhile, IPG’s newer applications like additive manufacturing, which includes 3-D printing and glass cutting “showed robust performance,” CEO Valentin Gapontsev said in a statement.

Sales in Japan did “exceptionally well,” Gapontsev added, and were up to a lesser extent in Europe, but weaker in North America and China.

Looking ahead, Gapontsev said IPG has received a “significant” order from China for the company’s new low-cost pulsed lasers, which should start shipping in the spring.

The company said it expects second-quarter revenue to land between $173 million and $188 million, with earnings per share between 77 and 92 cents, also in line with expectations, according to Briefing.com.

“There are significant opportunities for IPG to continue to generate profitable growth through existing and new applications as well as product-line expansion,” Gapontsev said.