MEMS maker Tronics Microsystems SA is reporting a 5 percent increase in revenues for 2008 compared to the previous year despite declining sales in key markets like aerospace. Tronics (Crolles, France), which focuses on custom design services backed by in-house manufacturing of its MEMS chips, said that its net profit totaled 8 percent of revenue for 2008, down from 12 percent in 2007. Tronics 2008 revenue totaled $16.3 million, compared to $15.4 million in 2007, for a net profit of $1.3 million in 2008 compared to $1.9 million the previous year. Tronics said its balance sheet includes $6.6 million in cash and a debt/equity ratio below 30 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Tronics grew despite 2008 capital expenditures used to finance its U.S. subsidiary, Tronics MEMS Inc. which has a new Dallas-based fab, and its acquisition of MedTech Development (Sunnyvale, Calif.) The company has a strong position for weathering the recession and expects to at least break even in 2009, and return to double-digit growth in 2010.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=216500702
