DGAP-News: AIXTRON expects stronger growth in 2021 / 30% order growth in 2020 / AIXTRON meets 2020 guidance / Shareholders to receive dividend for 2020 / Order, sales and earnings growth expected for 2021

AIXTRON expects stronger growth in 2021

30% order growth in 2020 / AIXTRON meets guidance for 2020 / Strong acceleration in sales and earnings growth in the fourth quarter / Shareholders to receive dividend for 2020 / Order, sales and earnings growth expected for 2021

Herzogenrath/Germany, February 25, 2021 - AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA, ISIN DE000A0WMPJ6) has remained on track in fiscal year 2020. The Company, which is one of the world's leading suppliers of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, increased both revenues and earnings and met its full-year 2020 guidance. In the fourth quarter of 2020 in particular, the company was able to meet its demanding expectations in terms of sales and earnings.

In the 2020 reporting year, order intake of EUR 301.4 million exceeded the previous year's figure by 30%. In the fourth quarter, new orders amounted to EUR 92.2 million, also 30% above the third quarter volume. This was the highest order intake in a single quarter since 2011. In particular, AIXTRON equipment for the production of energy-efficient power electronics based on gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC), specialty LEDs for display applications, and lasers for optical data communication and 3D sensing were ordered by customers.

Into the new fiscal year with a high order backlog

The equipment manufacturer's order backlog grew by 29% to EUR 150.9 million by the end of 2020. AIXTRON's revenue development benefited from the growing requirements for higher energy efficiency and data transmission speeds, as well as the growing use of innovative display technologies in consumer electronics. Full year 2020 revenues of EUR 269.2 million were slightly higher than the previous year (EUR 259.6 million), but in the fourth quarter exceeded the previous quarter's level by 69%.

As expected, revenue development in the optoelectronics segment in 2020 remained below that of the previous year, equipment for the manufacture of optoelectronic components continued to make the largest contribution with 33% of revenues (previous year: 43%). Sales of equipment for manufacturing of power electronics nearly doubled compared to 2019, contributing 31% of total revenues (previous year: 18%). Equipment for the production of LEDs contributed 27% to revenues (previous year: 35%).

In 2020, the metal organic vapor deposition (MOCVD) semiconductor equipment manufacturer again generated the majority of its sales in Asia with 73% (previous year: 68%), followed by Europe and America with 15% and 12% respectively (previous year: 16% each).

High investment in next-generation MOCVD equipment

AIXTRON achieved a high gross profit of EUR 108.3 million in 2020 (previous year: EUR 108.7 million). The high momentum was reflected in the year-end quarter, where the gross profit of EUR 45.0 million exceeded the previous quarter by 74%. AIXTRON increased its research and development (R&D) expenses, including expenses for OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) development activities, by 6% to EUR 58.4 million in the past fiscal year (previous year: EUR 55.0 million).

The Company has invested more than one in five euros (approximately 22%) of its revenues in R&D, primarily to bring next generation MOCVD tools to market for various applications. At year-end 2020, more than one third of the AIXTRON Group's total 728 employees were engaged in R&D activities. Following completion of the Gen 2 OLED development project, customer discussions are currently being held on the final qualification phase of this technology. Selling, general and administrative expenses also increased from EUR 26.4 million in 2019 to EUR 27.7 million in 2020.

The operating result (EBIT) of EUR 34.8 million was 11% lower than in the previous year (EUR 39.0 million). AIXTRON's earnings before interest and taxes in the year-end quarter increased very strongly to EUR 24.5 million, compared to EUR 8.2 million in the third quarter.

Financial position remains strong

Net income for the full year 2020 increased slightly year-on-year by 6% to EUR 34.5 million. In the fourth quarter, the equipment manufacturer achieved net income of EUR 24.9 million, more than tripling the previous quarter's net income of EUR 7.1 million. AIXTRON's continued high gross margin of 40% (previous year: 42%) and EBIT margin of 13% (previous year: 15%) demonstrate the company's strong profitability.

Free cash flow amounted to EUR 14.0 million in the past financial year (previous year: EUR 35.1 million). Cash and cash equivalents including financial assets amounted to EUR 309.7 million as of December 31, 2020 (previous year: EUR 298.3 million).

The continued high equity ratio of 84% (as of December 31, 2020; previous year 82%) underlines AIXTRON's financial strength.

In view of the positive business development in the past fiscal year, AIXTRON intends to pay a dividend. The Executive Board and the Supervisory Board will therefore propose to the Annual General Meeting on May 19, 2021, to pay a dividend of 11 euro cents per share. AIXTRON had last distributed a dividend to shareholders for fiscal year 2011.

In line with the volume of business, the number of employees in the Group also increased from 688 to 728 (as of December 31).

2021 Forecast: Accelerated growth expected

For the financial year 2021, Management expects a strong upturn in business development. Based on the current corporate structure, the assessment of the order situation and the budget rate of 1.25 USD/EUR (2020: 1.20 USD/EUR), it anticipates significant growth in order intake volume to between EUR 340 million and 380 EUR million.

Revenues are also expected to increase significantly to EUR 320 million to EUR 360 million. In particular, the Executive Board expects demand for equipment for the manufacture of energy-efficient power components made of gallium nitride to make further increase in the contribution to sales compared with the previous year.

The Executive Board has set itself the goal of ensuring continued high profitability in 2021 with a gross margin of around 40% and an EBIT margin of around 16% of sales. The expectations for 2021 fully include the results of the APEVA Group including all necessary investments and remain subject to the COVID 19 pandemic not having a significant impact on the development of the business.

"In 2020, we have taken a major step forward in strengthening our competitive position in the relevant growth markets for our MOCVD technology. With our ambitious and focused investment program to further develop our leading-edge technologies, we are setting the stage for progress in clearly aligning our product portfolio with the growing demands of our customers' future markets," says Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Board member of AIXTRON SE.

"These markets include, in particular, e-mobility, the expansion of the 5G mobile network, and the growing demand from our customers in the semiconductor industry to be able to deploy energy-efficient solutions. We will again increase our growth rate in 2021," adds Dr. Felix Grawert, Executive Board member of AIXTRON SE.

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Financial Statements

The FY/2020 results presentation is available at https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications#ir-presentations. 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 Annual Report 2020 and are available at
https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications. The non-financial group report of AIXTRON SE for 2020 ("Sustainability Report") is also available at https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications.

Investor Conference Call

In conjunction with the release of the full year 2020 results, AIXTRON will hold a conference call (in English) for analysts and investors on Thursday, February 25, 2020, 3.00 p.m. CET (06:00 a.m. PST, 09:00 a.m. EST). You can dial into the conference starting at 2:45 a.m. CET (05:45 a.m. PST, 08:45 a.m. EST) 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

MAIL [email protected]

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.