Written by StockNews.com

Coherent, Inc. (Nasdaq: COHR) late Tuesday posted much better than expected fiscal second quarter earnings results, as demand for its unique products continues to grow.

The Santa Clara, CA-based laser maker reported Q2:

• earnings per share (EPS) of $2.91, which was $0.46 better than the Wall Street consensus estimate of $2.45 [while]
• revenues surged 111.5% from last year to $422.8 million, also topping analysts’ view for $404.36 million.

The company commented via press release:

“Coherent delivered operating results that exceeded the high end of guidance with almost all markets and geographies making contributions.

We are seeing unprecedented demand across many of our verticals as we capitalize upon market trends as well as R&D investments made over the last few years.

The largest opportunity is in FPD where customers are projecting capacity at the high-end of our model.

We will likely make additional capital investments during fiscal 2018 in system test, optics fabrication and depot repair to address the demand.

We are also encouraged by the performance of our materials processing business, especially the early traction with high power fiber lasers.”

Coherent, Inc. shares rose $19.95 (+9.07%) in after-hours trading Tuesday. Year-to-date, COHR has gained 60.18%, versus a 7.58% rise in the benchmark S&P 500 index during the same period.

COHR currently has a StockNews.com POWR Rating of A (Strong Buy), and is ranked #8 of 54 stocks in the Technology – Communication/Networking category.