HERZOGENRATH (dpa-AFX) – The semiconductor equipment supplier Aixtron (AIXTRON SE) Aixtron (AIXTRON SE) wants to accelerate growth in the new year after being burdened by delivery delays. Towards the end of 2022, the lack of export licenses had slowed things down. Authorities were overburdened and sometimes took a more critical look at certain customer countries, probably China in particular. Recently, however, the situation had eased. In 2023, sales should now grow by at least a quarter and profitability should improve. While Aixtron missed the average of analysts’ expectations in terms of sales and operating profit last year, the outlook is largely higher thanks to the order situation.
In an initial reaction from broker Lang & Schwarz (L&S), the Aixtron shares rose by around five percent to just over 27 euros in the morning. The papers had a strong run from the end of February to December 2022: their price had roughly doubled to a good 32. Then some investors became concerned about delivery delays, and some analysts also warned that the rating was already quite high. A setback followed, and in February the price settled between 25 and 26 euros.
Tailwind is provided by continued high demand for systems for the production of electronic chips based on gallium nitride (GaN) and silicon carbide (SiC). Components based on this are smaller, more energy-efficient and more temperature-resistant than classic silicon chips. They enable fast charging technology and wireless charging for home electronics, but are also used for 5G mobile applications and installed extensively in electric cars and their charging stations. Large chip companies are currently investing a lot of money in the construction of new plants, since demand is likely to be high for many years. In addition, the US and Europe are promoting the construction of chip factories to reduce dependence on China and Taiwan.
Against this background, sales should increase by at least a quarter to 580 to 640 million euros in 2023, after an increase of eight percent to 463 million euros in the past year, the MDAX-listed company announced on Tuesday in Herzogenrath. Aixtron thus exceeded the lower end of the anticipated revenue range. According to corresponding company signals in January, some analysts had recently expected that sales would be at the lower end of the target corridor.
GaN and SiC systems accounted for 42 percent of revenues last year. Systems for optoelectronic semiconductors such as laser chips for data transmission or 3D sensor technology for face recognition as well as systems for the production of LEDs and micro-LEDs each account for just over a quarter of sales. With regard to the outlook, the management around company boss Felix Grawert is based on a system order backlog of almost 352 million euros at the end of 2022, which was almost two thirds more than twelve months earlier. In the new year, orders for 600 to 680 million euros should also be received.
However, analysts had recently become more cautious with a view to the short-term demand for micro-LED systems. The semiconductor group AMS-Osram (ams), which according to industry experts supplies the iPhone group Apple, will in future use Aixtron systems for the production of micro-LEDs after having qualified them after long tests. However, since the Apple Watch with micro-LED will not come onto the market until 2025, some deliveries from Aixtron to AMS Osram could drag on, analyst Olivia Honychurch from the investment house Jefferies said recently. The management of Aixtron is likely to announce more details in the annual conference call.
With a view to profitability, Grawert is aiming for an increase in the profit margin before interest and taxes (EBIT margin) to 25 to 27 percent in 2023. In 2022, the margin was 23 percent, which corresponds to growth in operating profit of six percent to 105 million euros. The surplus increased by the same amount to just over 100 million euros. The dividend is to increase by one cent to EUR 0.31. However, the free inflow of funds fell significantly to EUR 7.7 million, after previously EUR 48.7 million. However, this was mainly due to a sharp increase in inventories due to the delay in delivery of finished machines and the extensive purchase of materials to avoid delivery bottlenecks./mis/he/knd/zb
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