Universal Display Loses $19M

Phosphorescent organic LED (PHOLED) maker Universal Display Corp. last week reported a net loss for 2008 of $19.1 million, or 53 cents a share, an increase of 16.5 percent over 2007’s $16 million loss.

Revenue for 2008 was $11 million, down slightly from 2007’s $11.3 million total. The company said commercial revenue continues to steadily increase as customers transition from developing the OLEDs to selling actual products. Commercial revenue for 2008 increased to $5.6 million, up from $4.4 for 2007, while developmental revenue for the year decreased to $5.4 million from $6.8 million in 2007.

“This was a good quarter for Universal Display,” said Sidney D. Rosenblatt, executive vice president and CFO. “While the net loss increased quarter-over-quarter, primarily due to expanding our technical team in anticipation of the growth of the OLED industry, we are encouraged by the trends we are seeing on the revenue side. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 were the highest quarterly revenues in the company’s history.”

Revenue for the fourth quarter was $3.5 million, compared to $2.8 million one year ago. Net loss for the fourth quarter was $4.4 million, up from $3.2 million for the year-ago quarter, which the company attributed to an increase in operating expenses, primarily spending in research and developmment. Operating expenses for Q4 were $9.4 million, as compared to $8 million a year ago.

Universal Displays’ R&D expenses were $22.3 million for 2008, compared to $20.9 million for 2007. The increase was mainly due to increased patent costs, increased personnel (the staff was increased by 25 percent in 2008) and operating costs at its Ewing facility, the company said.

“As our PHOLED technology continues to gain increased commercial adoption, we expect revenue to trend much as it did in 2008,” Rosenblatt said. “While it is difficult to predict revenues on a quarter-to-quarter basis, we are encouraged by the commercial OLED activities of our licensees and technology partners. We believe that Universal Display remains well-positioned as OLED products gain market acceptance.”

For more information, visit: www.universaldisplay.com