EXHIBIT 99.1

NEWS

Veeco Instruments Inc., Terminal Drive, Plainview,  NY 11803 Tel. 516-677-0200 Fax. 516-677-0380

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Financial Contact: Debra Wasser, SVP Investor Relations & Corporate Communications, 516-677-0200 x1472

Media Contact:  Fran Brennen, Senior Director Marcom, 516-677-0200 x1222

VEECO REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2012 FINANCIAL RESULTS

Plainview, NY, April 30, 2012 — Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.  Veeco reports its results on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis, and also provides results excluding certain items. Please refer to the attached table for details of the reconciliation between GAAP operating results and Non-GAAP operating results. All results presented herein are for Veeco’s “Continuing Operations.”

GAAP Results ($M except EPS)

Non-GAAP Results ($M except EPS)

First Quarter 2012 Results

John R. Peeler, Veeco’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are executing well during the downturn in MOCVD demand.  Veeco’s first quarter revenue reached the top of our guidance at $140 million. Adjusted EBITA and non-GAAP earnings per share were $25 million and $0.49, respectively, on strong performance on the gross margin line and good expense management.”  Veeco generated about $42 million in cash flow from operations, ending the quarter with $524 million in cash and short term investments.  First quarter LED & Solar revenues were $96 million, including $82 million in MOCVD and $14 million in MBE.  Data Storage revenues were $44 million.

“As anticipated, we experienced a weak bookings environment in Q1, with total orders of approximately $113 million,” continued Mr. Peeler. “LED & Solar orders totaled $85 million, with $70 million in MOCVD and $15 million in MBE.  MOCVD orders increased 19% sequentially, with system orders from customers in Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan and North America. MBE orders increased 71% sequentially on production orders from wireless customers.  Data Storage bookings declined 62% sequentially to $29 million as customer consolidation activity temporarily stalled capacity investments.”  Veeco’s book-to-bill ratio was 0.81 to 1 and quarter-end backlog was $305 million.

Second Quarter 2012 Guidance & Outlook

Veeco’s second quarter 2012 revenue is currently forecasted to be between $120 million and $145 million. Earnings per share are currently forecasted to be between $0.20 to $0.40 on a GAAP basis, and $0.29 to $0.48 on a non-GAAP basis. Please refer to the attached financial table for more details.

Mr. Peeler commented, “I am proud of our team’s ability to execute, stay nimble and deliver solid profitability in a tough year.  We are experiencing growth in our Data Storage and MBE businesses, as well as in Services across all of our technologies. Veeco is focused on keeping our infrastructure lean and

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discretionary costs low, while at the same time developing next-generation technology solutions to drive future growth. We are on track to deliver 2012 revenue of $500-600 million.”

Mr. Peeler continued, “While MOCVD bookings grew modestly in the first quarter, we have not yet seen a clear inflection in customer buying patterns.  LED customers remain cautious about capacity investment plans and it is still unclear when the MOCVD market will recover. Some positive signs are emerging, including increasing tool utilization rates in Korea, Taiwan and China, and a pick-up in customer quoting activity.”

“Overall, we are seeing positive trends in LED lighting — lower prices, more LED lamp products, and heightened consumer awareness.  LED manufacturers are focused on how to position their businesses for growth as LEDs become the dominant lighting technology.  Despite the business decline in 2012, we firmly believe that the future MOCVD market opportunity will be larger than what we have experienced so far.  With leading market share, strong LED customer relationships, technology leadership, and lowest cost of ownership production systems, Veeco is poised for substantive long term growth in LED lighting,” concluded Mr. Peeler.

Conference Call Information

A conference call reviewing these results has been scheduled for 5:00pm ET today at 1-877-419-6590 (toll free) or 1-719-325-4834 using passcode 8772364. The call will also be webcast live on the Veeco website at www.veeco.com. A replay of the call will be available beginning at 8:00pm ET tonight through midnight on May 14, 2012 at 888-203-1112 or 719-457-0820, using passcode 8772364, and on the Veeco website.  Please follow along with our slide presentation also posted on the website.

About Veeco

Veeco makes equipment to develop and manufacture LEDs, solar cells, hard disk drives and other devices. We support our customers through product development, manufacturing, sales and service sites in the U.S., Korea, Taiwan, China, Singapore, Japan, Europe and other locations.  Please visit us at www.veeco.com.

To the extent that this news release discusses expectations or otherwise makes statements about the future, such statements are forward-looking and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include the risks discussed in the Business Description and Management’s Discussion and Analysis sections of Veeco’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and in our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and press releases.  Veeco does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances after the date of such statements.

-financial tables attached-

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Veeco Instruments Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

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Veeco Instruments Inc. and Subsidiaries

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In thousands)

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Veeco Instruments Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

(1) During the first quarter of 2012, we recorded restructuring charges totaling $0.1 million related to a company-wide reorganization executed during the second half of 2011.

(2) Adjustment to exclude non-cash interest expense on convertible subordinated notes.

(3) The Company utilized the with and without method to determine the income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments.

NOTE - This reconciliation is not in accordance with, or an alternative method for, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, and may be different from similar measures presented by other companies. Management of the Company evaluates performance of its business units based on adjusted EBITA, which is the primary indicator used to plan and forecast future periods. The presentation of this financial measure facilitates meaningful comparison with prior periods, as management of the Company believes adjusted EBITA reports baseline performance and thus provides useful information.

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Veeco Instruments Inc. and Subsidiaries

Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP results

(In thousands, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

(1) The Company utilizes the with and without method to determine the income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments.

NOTE - This reconciliation is not in accordance with, or an alternative method for, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, and may be different from similar measures presented by other companies. Management of the Company evaluates performance of its business units based on adjusted EBITA, which is the primary indicator used to plan and forecast future periods. The presentation of this financial measure facilitates meaningful comparison with prior periods, as management of the Company believes adjusted EBITA reports baseline performance and thus provides useful information.

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Veeco Instruments Inc. and Subsidiaries

Segment Bookings, Revenues, and Reconciliation

of Operating Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITA (Loss)

(In thousands)

(Unaudited)

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