Rubicon Technology Reaffirms Q2 Guidance

Rubicon Technology, Inc. RBCN today reaffirmed its previously issued second quarter 2011 revenue and earnings guidance and clarified its projected tax rate for the second quarter and remainder of the year. The Company reported that it is having another solid quarter and estimates that revenue in the second quarter should come in at the high end of the $40 million and $43 million range of its previously provided guidance. Pre-tax earnings are also expected to be at the high end of the previous estimates. The Company's second quarter EPS guidance of $0.82 to $0.86 assumed a diluted share count of 24 million shares and a tax rate of 7 percent, which represents accrual for state income taxes only. When providing this guidance, management indicated that a determination might be made to begin accruing for federal income tax as soon as the second quarter due to a number factors, including the dramatic increase in earnings of the Company. William Weissman, Rubicon's Chief Financial Officer, has confirmed that the Company will begin accruing for federal income tax beginning the second quarter of this year, which will bring the Company's effective tax rate up to approximately 40 percent for the second quarter and for the remainder of this year. Weissman also confirmed that the projected effective tax rate for 2012 remains at 30 to 35 percent. Factoring in the higher tax rate adjusts previously issued EPS guidance to between $0.53 and $0.55.