Rubicon Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:RBCN), an advanced electronic materials provider, announced that its 2012 Q3 revenue has increased to $19.9 million from $17.0 million in the prior quarter driven by strong six-inch sapphire wafer sales.
 
Revenue from six-inch wafer sales increased 62 percent sequentially as demand increased from both the Silicon-on-Sapphire and LED markets. Due to low industry pricing for two through four inch core products, the Company decided to sell a limited quantity of those products in the quarter. Raja Parvez, President and CEO of Rubicon Technology, commented, “We saw strong demand for our six-inch polished wafers in the quarter from both key markets, SoS and LED. While the recovery of the LED market is slower than expected, the strength of our technology has allowed us to outperform our peers by enabling us to take a leadership position in supporting emerging technologies like Silicon-on-Sapphire, large diameter LED substrates and large area optical windows.”
 
Gross margin in the third quarter increased to 12.3 percent, up from break-even in the prior quarter. The Company’s operating loss for the third quarter was reduced to $1.1 million from $3.1 million in the prior quarter, and earnings per share were $0.01 after recording a foreign currency gain and additional income tax credits.
 
Mr. Parvez continued, “While the LED market in general continues to remain fairly weak, we are seeing signs of improvement, and the SoS market remains strong. During the current LED industry cycle we continue to focus on enhancing our competitive position by developing new products, adding intellectual property and reducing our cost structure.”