Business Description
Lasertec designs inspection and measurement systems for semiconductor manufacturing. Its defining products are actinic EUV mask inspection systems, which examine EUV mask blanks and patterned photomasks using the same extreme-ultraviolet wavelength that the lithography scanners expose them with — a step that decides whether a flawless pattern reaches the wafer, and one in which Lasertec has had no real competitor. Customers are a small number of leading-edge chipmakers and mask and blank makers, overwhelmingly outside Japan. It also sells inspection tools for other uses, such as silicon-carbide wafers, but these are minor.
The business rests on a small number of very expensive systems with long lead times, so orders arrive in lumps and results swing with the timing of leading-edge capital spending rather than with chip demand from quarter to quarter. Revenue is recognised long after an order is booked, which is why orders received and the order backlog are watched as closely as profit, and why the shares are famously volatile. A growing installed base adds steadier service revenue from maintenance and upgrades. The company dates from 1962, is headquartered in Shin-Yokohama and, unusually for a Japanese company, closes its fiscal year in June.
Corporate Data
| Ticker | 6920 |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Tokyo Stock Exchange |
| Size Category | TOPIX Large70 |
| Market Segment | Prime Market |
| Sector | Electric Appliances |
| Head Office | 2-10-1 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 222-8552, Japan |
| Founded | August 13, 1962 |
| Fiscal Year End | June 30 |
| Website | Official website |