Advanced Energy Industries, Inc. announced financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2009. Sales for the second quarter of 2009 were $35.6 million, a 9.2% increase from $32.6 million in the first quarter of 2009. Sales decreased 59.6% from $88.0 million in the second quarter of 2008.
Sales to the semiconductor market drove overall sales growth, increasing 27.3% sequentially to $12.2 million. Semiconductor equipment OEMs worked through their inventories and fabs increased utilization, reflecting what we believe is the beginning of the market recovery. With equipment sitting idle for the last few quarters, manufacturers’ need for repairs and upgrades also grew, leading to a sequential increase of 14.2% in service and support revenues to $8.8 million, taking them to 24.8% of total sales. Sales to our non-semiconductor markets fell 5.0% to $14.6 million and represented 41.0% of total sales for the quarter. Strong orders during the quarter drove a sequential increase in our book to bill ratio to 1.06:1 from 0.87:1 in the first quarter of 2009 on a higher revenue base.
Higher revenues and the cost reduction efforts that have been implemented over the last several quarters resulted in improved gross margins of 22.3% in the second quarter, up from 19.6% in the first quarter of 2009. Gross margins decreased from 40.1% in the second quarter of 2008.
The second quarter net loss was $16.0 million or $0.38 loss per share, up from a net loss of $79.8 million or $1.90 loss per share in the first quarter of 2009, which included a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $63.3 million or $1.51 loss per share. Net income was $5.9 million or $0.14 earnings per diluted share in the second quarter of 2008.
"We were pleased with the improvement in our second quarter results, which we believe points to signs of modest recovery in certain markets. For the first time in more than a year, sales to our semiconductor OEMs increased. Sales to our semi-related service business also grew, typically reflecting near-term modest growth in the semiconductor market," said Hans Betz, President and CEO. "Our strong commitment to technology investment is fueling our diversification strategy. As such, we are very encouraged by the order momentum for our 500KW Solaron inverter. The successful launch of the 500KW Solaron demonstrates AE’s commitment to technology development as we look to expand our product portfolio and our market presence."
