LONDON (dpa-AFX) - AZ Electronic Materials S.A. (AZEM.L), a Luxembourg-based producer of specialty chemical materials, on Tuesday said its first-quarter revenue decreased 2 percent to $179.9 million from last year's $184 million. This resulted in the Group's EBITDA margin in the quarter being lower than normal.
Revenue was hurt by weakness in IC Materials with lower than expected sales and unfavourable product mix, partly offset by continued strength in Optronics.
In its interim management statement for the period from January 1 to April 8, the company noted that recent trading and order visibility for the second quarter show that the IC Materials business is likely to continue to perform below the company's expectations for the first half of the year.
For the first half, the company now expects Group EBITDA margin to be under 30 percent.
'Ongoing discussions with our customers, together with an anticipated strengthening in underlying markets, mean that we remain confident of a stronger environment for growth during the second half of the year, and beyond. The Group's revenue growth and EBITDA margin is expected to improve as the year progresses and remain weighted to the second half as per our previous guidance,' the company said in its statement.
AZ Electronic also said it now expects full-year group revenue will be around the same levels as last year, but Group EBITDA margin for the year will remain below normal levels.
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