- Due to weak margins caused by idle plant and development costs at its wafering facility, Rubicon (NASDAQ:RBCN) expects Q2 EPS of -$0.38 to -$0.46, well below a -$0.20 consensus. Revenue is expected to be "similar" to a Q1 level of $14.3M; the consensus is at $15.2M.
- Rubicon took a $1.1M sapphire wafer inventory charge in Q1, and says wafer costs were "higher than normal due to the large number of [patented sapphire substrate] samples produced and the cost of establishing a four-inch polishing line."
- The company had a Q1 gross loss of $7.5M (up from $3.4M a year ago) on revenue of $14.3M. Opex rose 17% Y/Y to $3.4M (compares with 72% rev. growth).
- Wafer costs are expected to come down in 2H14 as Rubicon shifts from development to production. Wafer revenue is expected to be "meaningfully higher" in Q2, but core revenue is expected to fall due to the exhaustion of sapphire boule inventory.
- Shares also tumbled three months ago due to margin/pricing worries.
-
Q1 results, PR