The third quarter of 2013 was marked by project 'Atlas', which focuses on outsourcing projects of OEMs. In September, RoodMicrotec received a major multi-year contract for the supply chain of chips of an OEM. This was later followed by an outsourcing contract that included the takeover of a complete test cell from a Siemens AG, Drive Technologies Division company in Germany. This is a three-year contract with an initial volume of approx. Euro 400,000. The current industry trend is that outsourcing activities of OEMs will increase further. As one of the best positioned companies in Europe in this area, RoodMicrotec is expected to be able to profit from this.

RoodMicrotec's total sales in the third quarter were at the same level as in the second quarter of 2013. Once again, it was heavily impacted by postponement of contracts. This phenomenon continues to play a key role in the market. However, the order portfolio has shown a healthy growth as of July.

Outlook second half 2013
Macro-economic uncertainty continues to overshadow the market. This impacts not only the developments in the semiconductor industry, but also those of RoodMicrotec. In spite of the uncertain situation, RoodMicrotec's sales development outlook for the second half of 2013 compared to the first half of 2013 remains positive. Analogous to the SIA forecast for 2014 and beyond, RoodMicrotec will recover and realise its growth objectives, definitely so if RoodMicrotec realises further growth through the 'Atlas' project. Also, RoodMicrotec's customer base is far more extensive than previously, which provides for better risk spreading. However, it should be borne in mind that in contrast to equipment and raw materials, RoodMicrotec is late-cyclical.