After a year of decline, Besi managed to stabilize revenue in the closing quarter of 2019: sequentially, it grew 3 percent to 92.4 million euros. The Duiven-based semicon equipment manufacturer feels the worst of the downturn has passed, though now the coronavirus may start to impact results negatively.
The downturn started for Besi in Q2 2019, when customers started to respond to uncertainty caused by global trade tensions. Particularly the mobile and automotive end-user markets were affected. Besi’s spares/service activities helped provide some cushion to operating results. This less cyclical, high-margin business generated revenue equal to approximately 20 percent of consolidated revenue.
Full year revenue of 356.2 million euros was down 32.2 percent year-on-year, net income of 81.3 million euros was down 40.4 percent. Through cost reductions – baseline operating expenses were decreased to 2015 levels – Besi managed to maintain a gross margin of 55 percent throughout the year, however.