(In the first sentence of the 5th paragraph it must say 2024.)
HERZOGENRATH (dpa-AFX) – The chip industry supplier Aixtron (AIXTRON SE) expects at least significantly slower growth in 2024. According to experts, a slower electric car market is providing headwind. According to a statement on Thursday, company boss Felix Grawert expects a strong increase in revenues again for the coming year 2025, “supported by the next wave of growth in the area of power electronics.” Overall, the company’s goals for the current year and the business figures for 2023 are mixed compared to analysts’ estimates. The shares came under pressure.
The shares lost almost 10 percent to 28.59 euros on the Tradegate trading platform in the morning compared to the Xetra closing. The minus in the still young stock market year 2024 would grow to more than a quarter in the main business. However, investors can also look back on five years of profit in a row with a price increase of around 360 percent overall.
In an initial reaction, a trader spoke of a dismal outlook. What dampens the mood is that Aixtron customer AMS Osram gave up a key project in its strategy with MicroLEDs. AMS reduced its medium-term targets due to an unexpected order cancellation.
The business with systems for MicroLED production only makes up a small part of Aixtron – around 11 percent in 2023 – but experts actually expected these activities to grow in the coming years. It is still unclear what impact the AMS-Osram news will have on Aixtron.
For 2024, Aixtron initially assumes that revenues will reach 630 to 720 million euros, as the company announced on Thursday. After an increase in sales of 36 percent to almost 630 million euros in 2023, that would at best be an increase of a good 14 percent.
Around 24 to 26 percent of sales should remain as profit before interest and taxes. The analysts’ estimate for sales is in the upper half of the sales range, but the operating profit margin is above the MDax Group’s target.
Last year, Aixtron achieved a margin of 25 percent, resulting in an operating result of 156.8 million euros. That was 50 percent more than in 2022. Analysts had hoped for a little more. However, Aixtron spent significantly more money on research and development in 2023 to fuel future company growth. In addition, the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of an innovation center at the headquarters in Herzogenrath took place in the final quarter, which is expected to cost a total of around 100 million euros.
The bottom line is that the company earned 145.2 million euros last year, 45 percent more than in 2022. The dividend is now expected to increase by 0.09 cents to 0.40 euros per share.
Analyst Madeleine Jenkins from the Swiss bank UBS recently warned that market expectations appeared too high. An important reason is the slowing growth of the entire electric car market. She also specifically referred to the electric car pioneer Tesla, which in January predicted slower growth in deliveries for 2024 and sees the next wave of growth based on new platforms in 2025. This is important because Tesla is one of the largest consumers of silicon carbide chips and because it is a signal for the development of the electric car market as a whole.
Electronic chips based on silicon carbide (SiC) are more energy-efficient and temperature-resistant than classic silicon chips. They conduct electricity more quickly, which is a prerequisite for fast charging technology for electric cars. They also enable the construction of smaller batteries or greater vehicle range with the same battery size. High-voltage SiC components are also becoming more interesting with a view to the expansion of alternative energies, as they are intended to enable higher efficiency and more power.
The company entered the new year with an order backlog for systems worth 353.7 million euros. Incoming orders grew by 9 percent to 640.7 million euros in 2023. Aixtron benefited significantly from the expansion of capacity by chip companies and from the introduction of new types of systems.
This also includes a new facility for the production of power and high-frequency electronic chips based on gallium nitride (GaN). These have now replaced classic silicon parts in fast-charging power supplies for smartphones, for example. Further applications are likely to follow. “We see increasing demand for applications in global data centers or solar systems,” Grawert said in the fall./mis/la/he/men
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