EQS-News: AIXTRON SE: Strong Q1 and growing success in SiC

AIXTRON SE: Strong Q1 and growing success in SiC
Technological advances lead to new SiC customer wins / Winning an additional SiC customer from the "top-5" / Construction of the innovation center fully on track / Revenues and profit in first quarter of 2024 significantly above previous year / Guidance for 2024 confirmed

Herzogenrath, Germany, April 25, 2024 – AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) has succeeded in further expanding its strong competitive position in the first quarter of 2024. This was driven by further technological advances to the G10-SiC system for the production of silicon carbide (SiC) based power electronics, which have already been confirmed by numerous customers and will be implemented in systems already delivered in the course of the year. As a result of this progress, AIXTRON was able to win further new customers in the SiC segment, in particular an additional customer from the "top-5" SiC manufacturers, as well as a major order from China and several customers in Japan.

In addition, power electronics based on gallium nitride (GaN) continue to expand into new application areas with the new G10-GaN system proving very popular. Research and development activities in the Micro LED segment continue to be highly dynamic, which has led to an increased demand for AIXTRON technology and orders from numerous customers. Demand in the optoelectronics segment remains stable: this momentum is particularly evident in systems for the production of lasers for optical data communications.
New Innovation Center fully on track
The work on the new Innovation Center at AIXTRON’s headquarters in Herzogenrath (Germany) is fully on schedule and within budget. With an investment of around 100 million Euros, AIXTRON is currently creating a new, technologically advanced cleanroom, where the company will work with customers on the next generation of systems.
Significant revenue growth in the first quarter
Following record shipments in the fourth quarter of 2023, revenues in the first quarter of 2024 increased by 53% year over year to EUR 118.3 million (Q1/2023: EUR 77.2 million). The previously issued guidance for first quarter revenues of between EUR 100 million and EUR 120 million was fully achieved.

AIXTRON systems for SiC and GaN power applications accounted for the largest share of equipment revenues, totaling EUR 57.7 million in the quarter (Q1/2023: EUR 36.3 million). This was followed by systems for the LED segment (including Micro LED) with EUR 19.6 million (Q1/2023: EUR 6.9 million) and for other optoelectronic applications such as lasers (Q1/2024: EUR 10.0 million; Q1/2023: EUR 13.0 million).
Strong year-on-year increase in operating result (EBIT)
In line with the strong revenues, AIXTRON generated a gross profit of EUR 43.8 million in the first quarter of 2024 – an increase of 41% compared to the same period last year (Q1/2023: EUR 31.1 million). The gross margin of 37% was below the guidance for the full year 2024 (Q1/2023: 40%) which was due to the product mix and fixed cost effects.

At EUR 33.8 million, operating expenses in the reporting period were higher than in the first quarter of 2023 (Q1/2023: EUR 27.6 million). This was mainly due to expenses for research and development (R&D): AIXTRON is already investing in future tool generations and is implementing further improvements to the new G10 product family at the same time.

Overall, AIXTRON achieved an operating result of EUR 9.9 million, an increase of 183% compared to the same period last year. In the first quarter, the EBIT margin amounted to 8% – an increase of 3 percentage points (Q1/2023: EUR 3.5 million; 5%). The profit for the period grew by 209% to EUR 10.8 million (Q1/2023: EUR 3.5 million).
Balanced order intake across all end markets – strong momentum from Micro LED
The order intake in the first quarter of 2024 was distributed relatively balanced across all addressed end markets and amounted to EUR 120.3 million (Q1/2023: EUR 139.9 million).

There was strong new momentum from business with systems for Micro LED applications, which accounted for 37% of the equipment order intake. This development was boosted by the continued development activities of Micro LED customers, who are continuing to invest in development and pilot lines for the commercialization of Micro LED technology.

The equipment order backlog as of March 31, 2024 was stable at EUR 355.0 million (Q4/2023: EUR 353.7 million).
Financial position
In the first quarter of 2024, the free cash flow amounted to EUR -33.1 million (Q1/2023: EUR 1.9 million). This was mainly due to the further slight increase in inventories in preparation for a correspondingly high business volume in the following quarters and the investments related to the innovation center.

As of March 31, 2024, cash and cash equivalents including other current financial assets amounted to EUR 148.5 million (December 31, 2023: EUR 181.7 million).

The high equity ratio of 76% as of March 31, 2024, underlines AIXTRON's financial strength (December 31, 2023: 75%).
Further strengthening the organization
AIXTRON has also used the past months to further strengthen its organization. Accordingly, the number of employees (full-time equivalent employees as of the reporting date) in the Group continued to increase. As of March 31, 2024, 1,132 employees worked for AIXTRON, 16% more than at the end of the first quarter of 2023 (March 31, 2023: 974).
Full year growth guidance confirmed
Based on the current corporate structure, the estimated development of the order intake, and the budget exchange rate of 1.15 USD/EUR (2023: 1.15 USD/EUR), the Executive Board confirms the growth guidance for fiscal year 2024. The Management expects revenues in the range between EUR 630 million and EUR 720 million, a gross margin of around 43% – 45% and an EBIT margin of around 24% – 26%. For the second quarter of 2024, the Executive Board expects revenues to range between EUR 120 million to EUR 140 million.
"Our recent technological achievements in SiC have further strengthened our position in this area and helped us to win new customers and follow-up orders. These successes are the result of our continuous work on innovative solutions that not only meet our customers' needs, but exceed their expectations. We are committed to long-term partnerships with our customers, with whom we work together on the innovations of the future. The Gold Supplier Award from the leading Micro LED player BOE HC SemiTek is further proof of the success of our strategy," said Dr. Felix Grawert, CEO and President of AIXTRON SE.

"Our strategy’s success is rooted in a long-term perspective. We persistently invest in innovative solutions that address current technological challenges, whether it’s electrification, energy efficiency, or fast data transfer with growing volumes. With this, we are facilitating the transition towards a more sustainable and connected world,” said Dr. Christian Danninger, CFO of AIXTRON SE.
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* not meaningful due to too high period fluctuations

Financial information
The presentation on the results for the first quarter of 2024 is available at:
www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications/ir-presentations

The complete financial tables of the Group (income statement, other comprehensive income, balance sheet, cash flow statement and statement of changes in equity) related to this press release are available as part of the Group's Quarterly Statement Q1/2024 at:
www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications
Investor conference call
In conjunction with the release of the Q1/2024 results, AIXTRON will host a conference call (in English) for analysts and investors on Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 15:00 p.m. CEST (06:00 a.m. PDT, 09:00 a.m. EDT). Please register for the event online at https://webcast.meetyoo.de/reg/mydtNSN4DM9Z. You will then receive an email with your personal access details.

An audio recording or transcript can be found after the conference at:
www.aixtron.com/en/investors/events/conference-calls

Contact
Investors
Carsten Werle
Director Investor Relations (interim)
fon +49 (2407) 9030-8815
e-mail c.werle.sc@aixtron.com

Media:
Ragah Dorenkamp
Director Corporate Communications
fon +49 (2407) 9030-1830
e-mail r.dorenkamp@aixtron.com

About AIXTRON
AIXTRON SE is a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry. The Company was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Herzogenrath (near Aachen), Germany, with subsidiaries and sales offices in Asia, United States and in Europe. AIXTRON´s technology solutions are used by a diverse range of customers worldwide to build advanced components for electronic and optoelectronic applications based on compound semiconductor materials. Such components are used in a broad range of innovative applications, technologies, and industries. These include Laser and LED applications, display technologies, data transmission, SiC and GaN power management and conversion, communication, signaling and lighting as well as a range of other leading-edge applications.

Our registered trademarks: AIXACT®, AIXTRON®, Close Coupled Showerhead®, EXP®, EPISON®, Gas Foil Rotation®, Optacap®, OVPD®, Planetary Reactor®, PVPD®, STexS®, TriJet®

For further information on AIXTRON (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) please visit our website at: www.aixtron.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking statements regarding the business, results of operations, financial condition and earnings outlook of AIXTRON. These statements may be identified by words such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “contemplate”, “intend”, “plan”, “believe”, “continue” and “estimate” and variations of such words or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on our current assessments, expectations and assumptions, of which many are beyond control of AIXTRON, and are subject to risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Should these risks or uncertainties materialize or should underlying expectations not occur or assumptions prove incorrect, actual results, performance or achievements of AIXTRON may materially vary from those described explicitly or implicitly in the relevant forward-looking statement. This could result from a variety of factors, such as actual customer orders received by AIXTRON, the level of demand for deposition technology in the market, the timing of final acceptance of products by customers, the condition of financial markets and access to financing for AIXTRON, general conditions in the market for deposition plants and macroeconomic conditions, cancellations, rescheduling or delays in product shipments, production capacity constraints, extended sales and qualification cycles, difficulties in the production process, the general development in the semi-conductor industry, increased competition, fluctuations in exchange rates, availability of public funding, fluctuations and/or changes in interest rates, delays in developing and marketing new products, a deterioration of the general economic situation and any other factors discussed in any reports or other announcements , in particular in the chapter Risks in the Annual Report, filed by AIXTRON. Any forward-looking statements contained in this document are based on current expectations and projections of the executive board based on information available the date hereof. AIXTRON undertakes no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless expressly required to do so by law.
This document is an English language translation of a document in German language. In case of discrepancies, the German language document shall prevail and shall be the valid version.