AIXTRON increases guidance for order intake / Order intake and order backlog in H1/2018 remain at high levels / Strong market demand for laser applications and ROY LED continues

AIXTRON increases guidance for order intake

Order intake and order backlog in H1/2018 remain at high levels

Strong market demand for laser applications and ROY LED continues

Herzogenrath/Germany, July 26, 2018 - AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA), a leading provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, today announced its financial results for the first half and the second quarter 2018.

Order intake including spare parts and service improved in H1/2018 to EUR 154.3m, an increase of 20% compared to the previous year. This positive development is driven primarily by continued demand for MOCVD systems for the production of red, orange and yellow (ROY) LEDs and especially for MOCVD systems for laser applications such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) or edge emitting lasers (EEL) for applications in 3D sensor technology or optical data transmission.

Equipment order backlog increased to EUR 138.3m as of June 30, 2018, an increase of 48% year-on-year and 20% compared to March 31, 2018.

Revenues rose by 3% year-on-year to EUR 117.6m in H1/2018. Sequentially, they fell to EUR 55.2m in Q2/2018 due to the scheduled shipments agreed with customers.

Gross profit and gross margin in H1/2018 improved to EUR 50.6m and 43% respectively compared to the previous year. Compared to the previous quarter, gross profit decreased to EUR 23.8m in Q2/2018 which is in line with revenue development, while the gross margin remained stable at 43%. This was mainly due to a favorable product and regional mix with a benefit from a positive USD/EUR exchange rate in the second quarter.

Operating result (EBIT) in H1/2018 improved to EUR 12.0m year-on-year. Compared to the previous quarter, EBIT in Q2/2018 fell to EUR 4.1m.

Net profit in H1/2018 rose to EUR 16.0m compared to the previous year and was positively influenced by the capitalization of deferred taxes in the amount of EUR 5m in the first quarter of 2018, resulting from the transition from losses in the past to expected profits in 2018.

Cash flow from operating activities amounted to EUR -8.5m in the first half of 2018. The operating cash flow of EUR 12.5m in Q2/2018 could not yet fully offset the negative figure from Q1/2018, which resulted primarily from planned payments in connection with the sale of the ALD/CVD product line in Q4/2017.

Cash and cash equivalents increased to EUR 234.7m as of June 30, 2018, compared to EUR 223.2m as of March 31, 2018. The difference reflects the operating performance including orders received in Q2/2018.

Key Financials

Business Development

Revenues and order intake in the first half of 2018 were driven by continued demand for MOCVD systems for the production of ROY LEDs for e.g. displays as well as lasers such as vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) for applications in 3D sensing and optical data transmission.

Cost of sales in H1/2018 decreased year over year to EUR 66.9m (57% of revenues) compared to EUR 85.8m (75% of revenues) in H1/2017. The previous year's figure included a total of EUR 2.3m in write-downs for frozen product lines. The improvement in cost of sales as a percentage of sales essentially reflects the improved product and regional mix. The reduction of cost of sales in Q2/2018 to EUR 31.3m or 57% of revenues compared to the previous quarter was in line with the development of revenues.

At EUR 38.7m, operating expenses in H1/2018 were 26% lower than in the previous year (H1/2017: EUR 52.4m; included restructuring expenses in connection with depreciation of frozen product lines in the amount of EUR 12.1m). Compared to the previous quarter, operating expenses in Q2/2018 were slightly up to EUR 19.7m due to some USD/EUR translational effects.

Management Review

Dr. Bernd Schulte, Executive Board Member of AIXTRON SE, comments: "The positive development in order intake continued in the second quarter of this year, so we have decided to raise our order intake guidance for fiscal year 2018. The slightly lower revenues in Q2/2018 are solely attributable to the scheduled shipments agreed with customers. Revenues in the second half of the year will be correspondingly higher than in the first half, so that we will achieve our revenue guidance as planned".

"We continue to benefit from the stable global demand for MOCVD systems for laser applications such as VCSEL or EEL, which are particularly in demand in the field of 3D sensors or optical data transmission. Our MOCVD systems for the production of red, orange and yellow (ROY) LEDs are also in high demand, as they are indispensable for the market penetration of display technologies based on fine pitch, mini and in the future also micro LEDs," adds Dr. Felix Grawert, Executive Board member of AIXTRON.

Guidance*

Based on the results for the first six months of the fiscal year 2018 and the internal assessment of the development of demand, AIXTRON Management updates its 2018 full year guidance given in February 2018.

Accordingly, AIXTRON Management now expects to book total orders between EUR 260 and 290 million (up from EUR 230 to 260 million previously) during 2018. Revenues are expected to be around EUR 260 million (Previous range: EUR 230 to 260 million). Gross margin is expected to be around 40% of revenues (previous range: 35% to 40%) and EBIT margin to be around 10% of revenues (previous range: 5% to 10%). The operating cash flow for the year is expected to be positive

*based on the 2018 budget rate of 1.20 USD/EUR

Financial Tables

The H1/2018 results presentation is available at http://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications. 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 available at http://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications as part of AIXTRON's First Half 2018 Financial Report.

Investor Conference Call

AIXTRON will host a financial analyst and investor conference call on Thursday, July 26, 2018, 3.00 p.m. CEST (6.00 a.m. PDT, 9.00 a.m. EDT) to review the first half 2018 results. You can dial into the call at +49 (30) 23 25 31 411 or +1 (862) 701-2734 from 2.45 a.m. CEST (5.45 p.m. PDT, 8.45 a.m. EDT). An audio replay or transcript will be available after the conference call at http://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/events/conference-calls/2018.

Contact:

Guido Pickert
Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
T: +49 (2407) 9030-444
F: +49 (2407) 9030-445

Andrea Su
Investor Relations US
T: +1 (669) 228-3895
invest@aixtron.com

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

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)

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.

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.