Swiss firm Esec, based in Cham in central Switzerland, has posted strong half-year sales growth of more than 70 per cent to SFr318 million ($183 million).

The company, which makes assembly equipment for the semi-conductor industry, performed well despite hiccups in the market for microchips.

Esec's turnover reached SFr318.3 million in the first six months, up from SFr186 million during the same period last year. Net profits rose to SFr84.5 million from SFr4.6 million.

Esec's performance exceeded the expectations of analysts, who were looking for an increase in earnings of around 50 per cent. The company's strong showing comes despite recent the revenue warning issued by US microchip maker, Intel.

In a statement, Esec said the increase in net profits was attributable to growth in sales, as well as to the currency-adjusted increase of more than five per cent in the average selling price of the company's products and favourable developments on the foreign exchange front.

While the lion's share of production costs at Esec are incurred in Swiss francs, selling prices in most of the company's markets are incurred in US dollars.

Analysts expect the stock to continue to consolidate around the SFr600 to SFr800 level.

swissinfo with agencies

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