Industry Freiburg-based Comet Group ready for an upturn in the semiconductor market

The Freiburg-based high-tech component manufacturer Comet expects strong growth in the second half of the year despite a decline in sales in the first half. Profitability is also expected to increase significantly again. This should be made possible by the expected upturn in the semiconductor market.

"We are ready to benefit from this," Group CEO Stephan Haferl reiterated earlier statements in Wednesday's webcast on the half-year figures. "We are making good progress with all of our strategic investment projects."

These include the expansion of the semiconductor plant in Penang (Malaysia), the Synertia platform in the field of high-frequency generators and the new CA20 inspection solution, as Haferl explained. Growth is expected to come primarily from the semiconductor segment, while only slight growth is expected in the automotive, aviation and security sectors.

This confidence is fueled not least by the progress made in the first half of the year. As a result of a weak first quarter, sales fell in the first half of the year as a whole - but in the second quarter of the year, Comet already achieved slightly higher sales than in the previous year. In addition, incoming orders rose by 22 percent in the first half of the year.

Despite sales of only CHF 189 million after six months, Comet continues to expect sales of between CHF 440 and 480 million for the year as a whole. The management also continues to believe in the EBITDA margin target of 15 to 17 percent - although it was only just under 7 percent in the first half of the year.