Basler has grown 9 per cent, with sales of €88.9m, for the first half of 2020. However, the firm has seen a decline in order intake at the end of the second quarter.
The company's incoming orders increased by 10 per cent to €92.3m over the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2019. Its earnings before taxes grew by €5.6m to €12.8m, a jump of 78 per cent on the previous year.
But, given the economic climate, Basler's management are cautious. The management assumes that the capital goods market and the associated computer vision market will continue to be negatively affected in the coming quarters, the company stated.
The effects will vary considerably depending on the vertical market, Basler said. For instance, Basler expects seasonally lower demand for machine vision components in the semiconductor and electronics areas.
Automotive is another area that has been hit hard by coronavirus restriction and lockdowns – Cognex's revenue fell 15 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, primarily because of lower sales to the automotive sector.
Basler's forecast, therefore, is that the sales figures will weaken in the second half of the year. The firm's management expects consolidated sales in the range of €155-165m.
Beyond the current macro-economic conditions, however, Basler's management takes a generally positive view of the future, saying that factory automation remains a growth area, as does image processing in new applications outside of factories.
Demand high for Flir thermal screening
Flir Systems has also released second quarter 2020 financial results, recording a revenue of $482.0m for the quarter, consistent with the same period last year.
Sales revenue for its Industrial Technologies segment was $300.2m, representing an increase of $15.7m, or 5.5 per cent compared to Q2 2019.
The revenue increase was primarily attributable to heightened demand for elevated skin temperature solutions as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. This was partially offset by lower volume in commercial end markets such as maritime and security products.
The company's backlog at the end of the quarter was $350.7m, reflecting a 48.1 per cent increase over Q2 2019, again because of increased orders for thermal cameras for screening for elevated skin temperature.
Industrial Technologies bookings totalled $334.0m for the quarter, representing a book-to-bill ratio of 1.11. The segment's operating income was $107.1m, compared to $71.6m in the prior year quarter.
