Image source: GT Advanced Technologies.
High-tech materials supplier GT Advanced Technologies (NASDAQ: GTAT) just reported results for the first quarter of 2014.
Sales fell 61% year over year, landing at $22.5 million. GT saw a $0.22 non-GAAP loss per share, about three times the $0.07 loss per share reported in the year-ago period. Analysts were hoping for better results on both the top and bottom lines.
However, GT also reiterated its full-year guidance. The $700 million revenue range midpoint and the $0.10 earnings projection remain in line with analyst estimates, making this quarter's misses look insignificant to the bigger picture.
The immovable revenue forecast gains credibility from the fact that most of the money is in the bank. GT has received three out of four prepayments from Apple (AAPL -0.35%) for getting sapphire screen operations up to high-volume speed.
These payments add up to $440 million so far, and will stop at $578 million by the end of the year. None of these payments show up as revenue or asset balances, but are directly applied to the capital costs of upgrading that sapphire facility in Arizona. This way, Apple provides full funding for the factory upgrade costs.
"We continue to expect our sapphire segment to contribute meaningfully to revenue this year," said GT Advanced Technologies CEO Tom Gutierrez in a prepared statement. "We [...] expect that 2014 will be a transformational and significant year for GT as our sapphire materials business ramps up."
