DGAP-News: AIXTRON: Good start into the new year 2021 / High order momentum especially for GaN power electronics / Orders and revenues at upper end of forecast, EBIT guidance increased

AIXTRON: Good start into the new year 2021 
High order momentum especially for GaN power electronics
Orders and revenues at upper end of forecast, EBIT guidance increased

Herzogenrath/Germany, April 29, 2021 - AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) has made a good start into the new fiscal year 2021. The Company, which is one of the world's leading providers of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, strongly increased orders, revenues and net income in the first quarter of 2021 year-on-year. In light of this development, the Management Board has reiterated its positive guidance for the full year 2021.

Order intake: Gallium nitride as growth driver

The equipment manufacturer's order intake in the first three months of 2021 increased by 81% year-on-year to EUR 124.4 million (previous year: EUR 68.8 million). This means that AIXTRON has exceeded the high order intake of the last quarter of 2020 (EUR 92.2 million).

In the first quarter of 2021, AIXTRON's equipment for the production of semiconductor devices based on gallium nitride was in particularly high demand; they are used for energy-efficient power electronics, for example for more compact and higher performing chargers, and for wireless data transmission in 5G mobile communications. The order backlog as of March 31, 2021, was EUR 223.5 million, up around 53% on the prior-year quarter's level of EUR 146.3 million.

Main sales driver: application area Optoelectronics

The MOCVD specialist for the semiconductor industry also improved its revenues by 21% to EUR 49.5 million in the first quarter of the year. The systems for the production of devices for applications in optoelectronics were the main sales driver in the first quarter. The focus was on equipment for the production of lasers for use in optical data communication and 3D sensor technology.

Systems for the manufacture of energy-efficient power electronics based on gallium nitride and silicon carbide were another important sales driver. They are used, for example, for fast charging of the batteries of mobile devices such as smartphones and in the powertrain for electric vehicles.

At EUR 17.3 million, gross profit exceeded the previous year's result (EUR 14.6 million) by 18% with a gross margin of 35% (previous year: 36%). Higher sales volume effects compared to the previous year were partially offset by the impact of the weaker US dollar. Furthermore, additional expenses were incurred in the reporting quarter for preparing production capacities for the increased output planned for the second half of the year.

Ready for the future

In particular, to bring next-generation MOCVD systems for various applications to market maturity, the high-tech equipment supplier to the semiconductor industry spent EUR 11.9 million in the first three months of 2021 for Research & Development (previous year: EUR 14.4 million). This includes lower ongoing costs for OLED technology.

Operating expenses of EUR 18.0 million increased by 15% year-on-year in Q1/2021 (Q1/2020: EUR 15.7 million). A positive one-off benefit in the previous year resulted in other operating income of EUR 2.9 million at that time.

AIXTRON's operating result (EBIT) of EUR -0.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 improved year-on-year (EUR -1.1 million), mainly due to revenue growth. The net result increased substantially to EUR 3.8 million compared to the corresponding period of the previous year, primarily due to further recognition of deferred tax assets (Q1/2020: EUR -0.8 million). The manufacturer of deposition equipment achieved a gross margin of 35% (previous year: 36%) and an EBIT margin of -1% (previous year: -3%).

Solid financial foundation

At EUR 28.1 million, free cash flow in the first three months of 2021 was significantly higher than in the previous year (EUR 3.0 million). Cash and cash equivalents including financial assets amounted to EUR 341.0 million as of March 31, 2021 (December 31, 2020: EUR 309.7 million) mainly due an increase in customer deposits and despite the scheduled increase in inventories for future shipments.

AIXTRON's financial strength is evidenced by the continued high equity ratio of 77% (as of March 31, 2021), up from 84% as of December 31, 2020.

As announced, Dr. Bernd Schulte left the Executive Board at the end of his contract on March 31, 2021 and retired. As announced, Dr. Felix Grawert has been appointed Chairman of the Executive Board effective April 1, 2021. As of May 1, 2021, Dr. Christian Danninger will join the AIXTRON Executive Board as the new Chief Financial Officer. AIXTRON has thus completed the generation change in the Executive Board.

Forecast 2021: Accelerated growth

For the financial year 2021, the Management Board continues to expect a strong upturn in business compared to the previous year. Based on the results for the first three months of 2021 and the internal assessment of the demand development, the Executive Board confirms the previously issued full-year guidance with regard to order intake, revenues, and gross margin and raises it in regard to the EBIT margin. This also takes into account the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which at this stage is not considered to be significant for the AIXTRON Group's business.

In terms of order intake, the Executive Board anticipates to come out at the upper end of the EUR 340 million to EUR 380 million range. In terms of revenues, AIXTRON also expects to achieve the upper end of the EUR 320 million to EUR 360 million range. A gross margin of approximately 40% is still expected to be achieved. Due to the improved revenue expectations, the Executive Board is raising its EBIT margin expectation from previously 16% to now around 18%.

In addition, with a view to the AIXTRON Group's newly defined sustainability targets in 2020, AIXTRON is striving in the medium term to achieve a recognizable reduction in energy consumption and a significant expansion of further training measures for its employees.

As the customer discussions initiated with the previous Asian customer after qualification of the Gen2 deposition system did not lead to the envisaged result, AIXTRON's subsidiary APEVA is now addressing opportunities in China with its technology for the production of OLEDs. Together with the joint venture partner H&IRUJA, the commercialisation of the OVPD core technology is to be driven forward there. To this end, APEVA will focus on the supply of key components. Successful conclusion of talks with potential customers in China is not expected before 2022.

Key Financials	2021 Q1	2020 Q1	+/-	2021 Q1	2020 Q4	+/-
(in EUR million)			(%)			(%)
Order intake	124.4	68.8	81	124.4	92.2	35
Order backlog (Equipment only)	223.5	146.3	53	223.5	150.9	48
Revenues	49.5	41.0	21	49.5	108.1	-54
Gross Profit	17.3	14.6	18	17.3	45.0	-62
%	35	36	-1 pp	35	42	-7 pp
EBIT	-0.7	-1.1	36	-0.7	24.5	-103
%	-1	-3	2 pp	-1	23	-24 pp
Net result	3.8	-0.8	575	3.8	24.9	-85
%	8	-2	10 pp	8	23	-15 pp
Free cash flow	28.1	3.0	837	28.1	17.3	62

 

"We have made a very good start to the new year. Customer demand for our systems is pleasingly high - across all three application areas of power electronics, optoelectronics and LEDs. As a result, we were able to cfirm up our full-year guidance for order intake and revenues at the upper end of the range and increase our EBIT margin expectations from previously 16% to around 18%," said Dr. Felix Grawert, Chief Executive Officer of AIXTRON SE. "With our focused investment program to further develop our leading-edge technologies and product portfolio, we have set the course at an early stage to be able to continue to satisfy our customers' demand for innovative equipment in the years to come in the best possible way," he adds.

To download photos please click here.

Financial Statements

The Q1/2021 results presentation is available at: http://www.aixtron.com/de/investoren/ir-praesentationen
The consolidated financial statements (income statement, statement of comprehensive income, balance sheet, cash flow statement, statement of changes in equity) relating to this press release are part of AIXTRON's Q1/2021 quarterly report and are available at:
http://www.aixtron.com/de/investoren/publikationen

Investor Conference Call

In conjunction with the announcement of the first quarter 2021 results, AIXTRON will hold a conference call for analysts and investors on Thursday, April 29., 2021, at 15:00 Uhr CEST (06:00 a.m. PDT, 09:00 a.m. EDT). You can dial into the conference starting at 2:45 a.m. CEST (05:45 a.m. PDT, 08:45 a.m. EDT) by calling +49 (30) 23 25 31 411 or +1 (862) 701-2734. An audio recording or transcript will be available after the conference at https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/events/conference-calls/.

Contact Person

Guido Pickert
Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
PHONE +49 (2407) 9030-444
E-MAIL g.pickert@aixtron.com

Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout this document may not add up precisely to the totals indicated and percentages may not precisely reflect the absolute figures for the same reason.

About AIXTRON SE

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 opto-electronic applications based on compound or organic 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 technologies.

Our registered trademarks: AIXACT(R), AIXTRON(R), APEVA(R), Atomic Level SolutionS(R), Close Coupled Showerhead(R), CRIUS(R), EXP(R), EPISON(R), Gas Foil Rotation(R), Optacap(TM), OVPD(R), Planetary Reactor(R), PVPD(R), STExS(R), TriJet(R)

For further information on AIXTRON (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) please visit our website at www.aixtron.com/en.

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.