AIXTRON on track / Strong order growth of 41% / Rising revenue momentum / Continued strong R&D activities / Unchanged high liquidity and equity ratio / Guidance confirmed

AIXTRON on track

Strong order growth of 41% / Rising revenue momentum / Continued strong R&D activities / Unchanged high liquidity and equity ratio / Guidance confirmed

Herzogenrath/Germany, July 23, 2020 - Despite the Corona crisis, AIXTRON SE (FSE: AIXA) remains on track in the first half of 2020. The company, which is one of the world's leading providers of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, received order volumes of EUR 138.4 million, approximately 41% more than in the corresponding prior-year period (EUR 98.3 million); in the second quarter, AIXTRON was able to demonstrate strength with a solid order volume of EUR 69.6 million, also compared to the first quarter of the year (EUR 68.8 million).

The main drivers of the growing customer demand for deposition equipment are the growing markets for gallium nitride and silicon carbide power electronics, lasers for ultra-fast optical data transmission and specialty LEDs for display and disinfection applications. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, AIXTRON's operations have been up and running without interruption due to early measures taken and a stable supply chain.

High order backlog

The equipment manufacturer for the semiconductor industry enters the second half of 2020 with a very strong 42% year-on-year increase in the order backlog to EUR 156.6 million (as of June 30, 2020, equipment only); at the end of the first quarter (March 31, 2020), the order backlog was EUR 146.3 million.

Due to the development of order intakes in the previous year, revenues (including service and spare parts) in the first six months of 2020 were, as expected, lower than in the corresponding period of the previous year (EUR 132.0 million) at EUR 97.0 million. Quarter-on-quarter, revenue in the second quarter of 2020 again developed much more dynamically and, at EUR 56.0 million, exceeded the figure for the first quarter of the year (EUR 41.0 million) by 37%.

AIXTRON continued to show strong profitability and return on investment in the period from January to June 2020. Despite regional corona-related lockdowns, first in China and later in Europe and the US, which resulted in some delayed local installations, AIXTRON generated a gross margin of 39% in the first half of 2020 (H1/2019: 40%). The margin dip in the first quarter (36%) was compensated by a gross margin of 41% in the following three months.

Continued strong R&D activities

The significant increase in revenues and margins between April and June resulted in a significantly improved operating result (EBIT, earnings before interest and taxes) of EUR 3.3 million, compared to an EBIT of EUR -1.1 million in the first quarter of the year, due to lower revenues. Overall, the deposition equipment provider generated an operating result of EUR 2.2 million in the first six months, compared to EUR 19.1 million in the same period last year.

AIXTRON invested EUR 28.6 million in Research and Development (R&D), 13% more than in the corresponding six-month period of the previous year. AIXTRON's R&D efforts for leading-edge technologies are focused on the development and improvement programs for next-generation MOCVD systems - for all application markets - and the OLED qualification project, where AIXTRON has achieved some critical specifications and is working intensively on achieving further specifications. In parallel, the company is starting discussions with the customer on the next steps in the joint OLED program.

Solid financial foundation

As a result of the lower revenues and margins, net result in the first half of the year of EUR 2.5 million did not reach the previous year's level (H1/2019: EUR 15.8 million), but in the second quarter net result of EUR 3.3 million was up on the start of the year (Q1/2020: EUR -0.8 million).

The stable equity ratio of 82% at the end of the first half of the year (June 30, 2020) continues to demonstrate AIXTRON's financial strength. Free cash flow in the first half of the current fiscal year amounted to EUR -8.4 million, compared to EUR -4.8 million in the same period of the previous year, due to the build-up of higher inventory levels in preparation for increasing shipments in the second half of the year.

Based on the solid order backlog and the currently estimated low impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, AIXTRONs Executive Board confirms its guidance for the full year 2020, and on the basis of an exchange rate of 1.20 USD/EUR, expects to receive orders and revenues of between EUR 260 million and EUR 300 million. The Company aims to achieve a gross margin of approximately 40% and an EBIT margin between 10% and 15%.

"In the second half of the year, our business should grow much more dynamically again. We expect revenues to grow strongly in the third quarter and then again in the final quarter", commented Dr. Bernd Schulte, President of AIXTRON SE.

Dr. Felix Grawert, President of AIXTRON SE, adds: "The renewal of our product portfolio is making good progress. With our new products we will be able to better support our customers in their growth in future markets such as 5G mobile network expansion and e-mobility".

Financial Statements

The presentation on the results for the first half of 2020 is available at https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications. The complete financial tables of the Group (income statement, other comprehensive income, balance sheet, cash flow statement and statement of changes in equity) relating to this press release are available as part of the Interim Financial Report H1/2020 at
https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications

Investor Conference Call

In conjunction with the announcement of the results for the first half of 2020, AIXTRON will hold a conference call (in English) for analysts and investors on Thursday, July 23, 2020 at 3:00 p.m. CEST (06:00 a.m. PDT, 09:00 a.m. EDT). You can dial into the conference call from 2:45 p.m. CEST (05:45 a.m. PDT, 08:45 a.m. EDT) at +49 (30) 23 25 31 411 or +1 (862) 701-2734. An audio replay or transcript of the conference call will be available at https://www.aixtron.com/en/investors/events/conference-calls/

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Contact
Guido Pickert
Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Phone +49 (2407) 9030-444
MAIL g.pickert@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 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 LED applications, display technologies, data storage, data transmission, energy 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.
 

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.