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Responsibility Statement required by Sections 297(2) sentence 4 and 315 (1) sentence 5 of the Handelsgesetzbuch (HGB – German Commercial Code) for the Consolidated Financial Statements:
“To the best of our knowledge, and in accordance with the applicable reporting principles, the Consolidated Financial Statements give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss of the Group, and the Group Management Report includes a fair review of the development and performance of the business and the position of the Group, together with a description of the material opportunities and risks associated with the expected development of the Group.”
Herzogenrath, February 26, 2024 AIXTRON SE
The Executive Board
Dr. Felix Grawert Dr. Christian Danninger
Dr. Felix Grawert | Dr. Christian Danninger |
Chairman | Member |
To AIXTRON SE, Herzogenrath
We have audited the consolidated financial statements of AIXTRON SE, Herzogenrath, and its subsidiaries (the Group), which comprise the consolidated statement of financial position as of December 31, 2023, and the consolidated income statement, consolidated statement of other comprehensive income, consolidated statement of changes in equity and consolidated statement of cash flows for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, and notes to the consolidated financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. In addition, we have audited the management report of the Company and the Group (combined management report) of AIXTRON SE for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023.
In accordance with German legal requirements, we have not audited the content of those components of the combined management report specified in the "Other Information" section of our auditor's report.
In our opinion, on the basis of the knowledge obtained in the audit,
Pursuant to Section 322 (3) sentence 1 HGB, we declare that our audit has not led to any reservations relating to the legal compliance of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report.
We conducted our audit of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report in accordance with Section 317 HGB and the EU Audit Regulation No 537/2014 (referred to subsequently as "EU Audit Regulation") and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer [Institute of Public Auditors in Germany] (IDW). We performed the audit of the consolidated financial statements in supplementary compliance with the International Standards on Auditing (ISAs). Our responsibilities under those requirements, principles and standards are further described in the "Auditor's Responsibilities for the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and of the Combined Management Report" section of our auditor's report. We are independent of the group entities in accordance with the requirements of European law and German commercial and professional law, and we have fulfilled our other German professional responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. In addition, in accordance with Article 10 (2)(f) of the EU Audit Regulation, we declare that we have not provided non- audit services prohibited under Article 5 (1) of the EU Audit Regulation. We believe that the evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report.
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the consolidated financial statements for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the consolidated financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
Please refer to Note 2 (N) of the notes to the consolidated financial statements for further information on the accounting policies applied and the assumptions used. For a breakdown of revenues, please refer to Note 3 of the notes to the consolidated financial statements.
THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT RISK
The Company generated revenues from spare parts of EUR 92.3 million in the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023.
AIXTRON recognizes revenues when (or as) it fulfils a performance obligation through the transfer of a promised asset to a customer. An asset is transferred when (or as) the customer obtains control of that asset. Revenues from spare parts are recognized solely at a point in time.
Revenues from spare parts are based on a large number of business transactions. Revenues are one of the Group's most important indicators of target achievement and additionally form a significant basis for decisions for the users of financial statements. There is the risk for the consolidated financial statements that revenues from spare parts are recognized without actual performance having been rendered. Further, there is the risk that revenues from spare parts are recognized in 2023, even though the services were not rendered in 2023.
OUR AUDIT APPROACH
In order to examine the recognition of revenues from spare parts, we assessed the design, setup and effectiveness of internal controls relating to order acceptance, outgoing goods and invoicing, in particular the determination and verification of the actual transfer of control.
In addition, on the basis of a mathematical and statistical procedure we selected revenue transactions in spare parts that were recorded in financial year 2023 and evaluated these by reconciling them with the underlying invoices and external delivery records.
In order to evaluate the recognition of revenues on an accrual basis, we assessed the applicable point in time and the amount of revenues recognized by reconciling invoices to the related external delivery records. The basis for this were revenues that were selected using a mathematical and statistical procedure which were recognized in a set period before the year-end closing date. Based on risk, we examined the credits issued for a certain period after the closing date and evaluated whether these required further evaluation in respect of the matching principle.
OUR OBSERVATIONS
The procedure used for the recognition of revenues and the revenue recognition cut-off for spare parts is appropriate.
The Executive Board and/or the Supervisory Board are/is responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the following components of the combined management report, whose content was not audited:
information extraneous to combined management reports and marked as unaudited.
The other information also includes the remaining parts of the annual report. The other information does not include the consolidated financial statements, the combined management report information audited for content and our auditor's report thereon.
Our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report do not cover the other information, and consequently we do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in so doing, to consider whether the other information
If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
The Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of consolidated financial statements that comply, in all material respects, with IFRSs as adopted by the EU and the additional requirements of German commercial law pursuant to Section 315e (1) HGB and that the consolidated financial statements, in compliance with these requirements, give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position, and financial performance of the Group. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for such internal control as it has determined necessary to enable the preparation of consolidated financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud (i.e., fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets) or error.
In preparing the consolidated financial statements, the Executive Board is responsible for assessing the Group's ability to continue as a going concern. It also has the responsibility for disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for financial reporting based on the going concern basis of accounting unless there is an intention to liquidate the Group or to cease operations, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so.
Furthermore, the Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of the combined management report that, as a whole, provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and is, in all material respects, consistent with the consolidated financial statements, complies with German legal requirements, and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development. In addition, the Executive Board is responsible for such arrangements and measures (systems) as it has considered necessary to enable the preparation of a combined management report that is in accordance with the applicable German legal requirements, and to be able to provide sufficient appropriate evidence for the assertions in the combined management report.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the Group's financial reporting process for the preparation of the consolidated financial statements and of the combined management report.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and whether the combined management report as a whole provides an appropriate view of the Group’s position and, in all material respects, is consistent with the consolidated financial statements and the knowledge obtained in the audit, complies with the German legal requirements and appropriately presents the opportunities and risks of future development, as well as to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinions on the consolidated financial statements and on the combined management report.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with Section 317 HGB and the EU Audit Regulation and in compliance with German Generally Accepted Standards for Financial Statement Audits promulgated by the Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer (IDW) and supplementary compliance with the ISAs will always detect a material misstatement. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these consolidated financial statements and this combined management report.
We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the audit. We also:
We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.
We also provide those charged with governance with a statement that we have complied with the relevant independence requirements, and communicate with them all relationships and other matters that may reasonably be thought to bear on our independence, and where applicable, the actions taken or safeguards applied to eliminate independence threats.
From the matters communicated with those charged with governance, we determine those matters that were of most significance in the audit of the consolidated financial statements of the current period and are therefore the key audit matters. We describe these matters in our auditor's report unless law or regulation precludes public disclosure about the matter.
We have performed assurance work in accordance with Section 317 (3a) HGB to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the rendering of the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report „aix-2023-12-31-de.zip“ (SHA256- Hashwert: 33d1fdbf185b62908f38862ddb4cee311584c4df242a884e73aa0d990d4633a1) made available and prepared for publication purposes complies in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format ("ESEF format"). In accordance with German legal requirements, this assurance work extends only to the conversion of the information contained in the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report into the ESEF format and therefore relates neither to the information contained in these renderings nor to any other information contained in the file identified above.
In our opinion, the rendering of the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report contained in the electronic file made available, identified above and prepared for publication purposes complies in all material respects with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format. Beyond this assurance opinion and our audit opinion on the accompanying consolidated financial statements and the accompanying combined management report for the financial year from January 1 to December 31, 2023, contained in the "Report on the Audit of the Consolidated Financial Statements and the Combined Management Report" above, we do not express any assurance opinion on the information contained within these renderings or on the other information contained in the file identified above.
We conducted our assurance work on the rendering of the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report contained in the file made available and identified above in accordance with Section 317 (3a) HGB and the IDW Assurance Standard: Assurance Work on the Electronic Rendering of Financial Statements and Management Reports Prepared for Publication Purposes in Accordance with Section 317 (3a) HGB (IDW AsS 410 (06.2022)). Our responsibility in accordance therewith is further described below. Our audit firm applies the IDW Standard on Quality Management 1: Requirements for Quality Management in Audit Firms (IDW QMS 1) (09.2022).
The Company's Executive Board is responsible for the preparation of the ESEF documents including the electronic rendering of the consolidated financial statements and the combined management report in accordance with Section 328 (1) sentence 4 item 1 HGB and for the tagging of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with Section 328 (1) sentence 4 item 2 HGB.
In addition, the Company's Executive Board is responsible for such internal control that it has considered necessary to enable the preparation of ESEF documents that are free from material intentional or unintentional non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB for the electronic reporting format.
The Supervisory Board is responsible for overseeing the process of preparing the ESEF documents as part of the financial reporting process.
Our objective is to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the ESEF documents are free from material intentional or unintentional non-compliance with the requirements of Section 328 (1) HGB. We exercise professional judgment and maintain professional skepticism throughout the assurance work. We also:
We were elected as group auditor at the Annual General Meeting on May 17, 2023. We were engaged by the Supervisory Board on September 16, 2023. We have been the group auditor of AIXTRON SE without interruption since financial year 2022.
We declare that the opinions expressed in this auditor's report are consistent with the additional report to the Audit Committee pursuant to Article 11 of the EU Audit Regulation (long-form audit report).
Our auditor's report must always be read together with the audited consolidated financial statements and the audited combined management report as well as the examined ESEF documents. The consolidated financial statements and combined management report converted to the ESEF format – including the versions to be entered in the German Company Register [Unternehmensregister] – are merely electronic renderings of the audited consolidated financial statements and the audited combined management report and do not take their place. In particular, the ESEF report and our assurance opinion contained therein are to be used solely together with the examined ESEF documents made available in electronic form.
The German Public Auditor responsible for the engagement is Dr. Kathryn Ackermann.
Essen, February 26, 2024
KPMG AG
Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft
[Original German version signed by:]
Dr. Ackermann | Dr. Ohmen |
Wirtschaftsprüferin | Wirtschaftsprüfer |
[German Public Auditor] | [German Public Auditor] |
April 25th, 2024 | Publication of the results for the 1st quarter of 2024 |
May 15th, 2024 | Annual General Meeting 2024, Aachen |
July 25th, 2024 | Publication of the results for the 1st half of 2024 |
October 31st, 2024 | Publication of the results for the 3rd quarter of 2024 |
Publisher: AIXTRON-Gruppe, Herzogenrath, Germany
Editor: AIXTRON-Gruppe, Deutschland
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Auditor: KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Essen, Germany
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 the current assessments, expectations and assumptions of the executive board of AIXTRON, of which many are beyond control of AIXTRON, based on information available at the date hereof and 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 those discussed by AIXTRON in public reports and statements, including but not limited those reported in the chapter “Risk Report”. 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.
Contact for investors and analysts: invest@aixtron.com
Contact for journalists: communications@aixtron.com
As a contribution to environmental protection, AIXTRON does not routinely print or mail annual reports.
This Annual Report is available on the AIXTRON website under www.aixtron.com/en/investors/publications at any time.
AIXTRON SE | Dornkaulstr. 2 | 52134 Herzogenrath | Germany
Alan Tai
Taiwan/Singapore
Christof Sommerhalter
USA
Christian Geng
Europe
Hisatoshi Hagiwara
Japan
Nam Kyu Lee
South Korea
Wei (William) Song
China
AIXTRON SE (Headquarters)
AIXTRON 24/7 Technical Support Line
AIXTRON Europe
AIXTRON Ltd (UK)
AIXTRON K.K. (Japan)
AIXTRON Korea Co., Ltd.
AIXTRON Taiwan Co., Ltd. (Main Office)
AIXTRON Inc. (USA)
Laura Preinich
Recruiter
Tom Lankes
Talent Acquisition Expert- Ausbildungsleitung
Christoph Pütz
Senior Manager ESG & Sustainability
Christian Ludwig
Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Ralf Penner
Senior IR Manager
Christian Ludwig
Vice President Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Prof. Dr. Michael Heuken
Vice President Advanced Technologies