Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Our discussion below constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this Report, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “targets,” “plans,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions related to the future are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates they are made.
Executive Summary
We are an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our proven ion beam, laser annealing, lithography, MOCVD and single wafer etch & clean technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.
We categorize our revenue by the key market segments into which we sell. Our four key markets are: Advanced Packaging, MEMS & RF Filters; LED Lighting, Display & Compound Semiconductor; Front-End Semiconductor; and Scientific & Industrial.
Sales of Lithography and PSP systems to Integrated Device Manufacturer (“IDM”) and Outsourced Semiconductor and Test (“OSAT”) customers in the Advanced Packaging, MEMS & RF Filter market remained soft in the third quarter. However, we remain well positioned for future growth in the advanced packaging market, supported by technology mega-trends such as mobile connectivity and 5G infrastructure, automotive electronics, and big data processing, as well as other Advanced Packaging applications. We are in the advanced stages of a product development initiative which improves the performance of our lithography systems to meet our customers’ next-generation requirements.
Sales in the LED Lighting, Display & Compound Semiconductor market also remained soft in the third quarter. We continue to work with our beta customer who recently received our advanced MOCVD system for ROY LEDs and other Photonics applications including VCSELs. We expect future business in this market to come from more applications in VCSELs, 3D sensors, laser diodes, and RF devices. Our broad portfolio of MOCVD and PSP technologies have been developed to support these emerging applications.
Sales in the Front-End Semiconductor market were driven by shipments of our laser annealing systems, as well as our Low-Defect-Density Ion Beam Deposition (“LDD-IBD”) system for Extreme Ultraviolet (“EUV”) Mask Blank production. We believe demand for these two product lines, driven by the development and release of advanced node semiconductors, will continue to provide future growth opportunities for us.
Sales in the Scientific & Industrial market were supported by shipments of Ion Beam systems for data storage applications as well as a variety of high-end optical coating applications. Demand for our Ion Beam products for Data Storage is being driven by the requirements to improve areal density of magnetic heads for hard disk drive manufacturers as well as an overall projected volume increase of thin film magnetic heads. These two factors taken together are driving additional capacity and equipment upgrades. The Scientific & Industrial market has historically provided a relatively stable revenue stream for the Company, however, in 2019 we have experienced growth in the Data Storage market.
Finally, we have been taking steps to reduce spending, focus our R&D investments to improve our ability to serve our customers, and rationalize investments in certain product lines. At the same time, we have been preparing for growth by investing in product lines that serve our existing markets, such as Laser Annealing, Advanced Packaging Lithography, and Ion Beam, while also investing in products to penetrate new markets, such as LDD-IBD for EUV mask blanks and MOCVD for the Photonics market including VCSELs.