Press Release

SUGAR LAND, Texas, Aug. 1, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Applied Optoelectronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:AAOI), a leading provider of fiber-optic access network products for the cable broadband, internet data center, and fiber-to-the-home markets, today announced that it shipped its millionth laser mid-year. Surpassing this milestone in July is significant given last year AOI sold just under one million lasers the entire year.

"The predicted rapid growth among our internet data center and fiber-to-the-home products is driving internal demand for our industry-leading edge-emitting lasers," said Alex Anselm, AOI's Vice President - Semiconductor Products Division. "We were pleased to have surpassed this annual milestone so early in the year and currently expect these growth rates to continue into the foreseeable future," said Anselm.

Applied Optoelectronics employs a vertical integration strategy, from wafer to optical equipment, and about 10 percent of the lasers it manufactures are sold as discrete chips and the remaining 90 percent are incorporated into AOI's own optical communication products. AOI currently utilizes its main office in Sugar Land, Texas as its global headquarters, main R&D office and its only laser fabrication center. Growth to-date has been sustained by adding additional shifts and the leasing of other offices within the same office park.

Thompson Lin, AOI's Founder and CEO, commented, "AOI is one of the few optical components manufacturers focused nearly exclusively on the optical access market. Our vertical integration from laser chip to optical equipment, coupled with our design manufacturing abilities, is driving our tremendous above market growth rates. We have continued to execute on our growth plan in order to capitalize on our growing market opportunities in the CATV, fiber-to-the-home and data center markets and we are pleased with the team's ability to scale the business to meet this increasing demand."

Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, as well as assumptions and current expectations, which could cause the company's actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to: reduction in the size or quantity of customer orders; change in demand for the company's products due to industry conditions; changes in manufacturing operations; volatility in manufacturing costs; delays in shipments of products; disruptions in the supply chain; change in the rate of design wins or the rate of customer acceptance of new products; the company's reliance on a small number of customers for a substantial portion of its revenues; potential pricing pressure; a decline in demand for our customers products or their rate of deployment of their products; general conditions in the CATV, internet data center or FTTH markets; changes in the world economy (particularly in the United States, and China); the negative effects of seasonality; and other risks and uncertainties described more fully in the company's documents filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as ''may,'' ''will,'' ''should,'' ''expects,'' ''plans,'' ''anticipates,'' ''believes,'' or ''estimates" or by other similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. You should not rely on forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date hereof, and qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements for any reason after the date of this press release to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in the company's expectations.

About Applied Optoelectronics

Applied Optoelectronics Inc. (AOI) is a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced optical products, including components, modules, and equipment. AOI's products are the building blocks for broadband fiber access networks around the world, where they are used in the CATV broadband, internet datacenter, and fiber-to-the-home markets. AOI supplies optical networking lasers, components and equipment to tier-1 customers in all three of these markets. In addition to its corporate headquarters, wafer fab and advanced engineering and production facilities in Sugar Land, TX, AOI has engineering and manufacturing facilities in Taipei, Taiwan and Ningbo, China. For additional information, visit www.ao-inc.com .

CONTACT: Investor Relations Contacts:

         

         Applied Optoelectronics Inc.

         James L. Dunn, Jr.

         Chief Financial Officer

         ir@ao-inc.com

         

         The Blueshirt Group, Investor Relations

         Maria Riley

         +1-415-217-7722

         ir@ao-inc.com