Evotec SE

Welcome to the Evotech preliminary second quarter and first half 2026 results and update full year 2026 Outlook. I'm Moritz, your cross-call operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in the listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and one on your telephones. for operator assistance, please press star and zero. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's a pleasure to hand over to Sarah Fakih, head of global communications and investor relations. Please go ahead.

Thank you, Moritz. Good morning, good afternoon, and welcome to today's webcast and conference call. My name is Sarah Fakih, and I'm the head of global communications and investor relations at Evotech. Please allow me to introduce today's speakers. Joining me on the call are Christian Wojczewski, Chief Executive Officer of Evotec, and Claire Hinshelwood, our Chief Financial Officer. Please note that this call is being webcast live and will be archived in the events calendar on our website. Before we begin, a few forward-looking statements. The discussion and responses to your questions on this call reflect management's views as of today, Tuesday, July 14th, 2026. During this call, we will make statements and provide responses that state our intentions, beliefs, expectations or projections regarding the future. These statements constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. They are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied. Evotec disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. For further information regarding these risks and uncertainties, please refer to our public filings and disclosures. With this, let me hand over the call to Christian.

Thank you, Sarah. Good morning and good afternoon to everyone. Thank you for joining today's call. Following our announcement last night, we are providing today an update based on preliminary unaudited financial results for the second quarter and first half of 2026, as well as an updated outlook for the full year. As a reminder, publication of our full financial results is scheduled for August 13. During our full year 2025 results presentation in April, We guided for a challenging first half of 2026. This outlook primarily reflected our anticipated continuation of the softness in the early drug discovery market seen in 2025, as well as the effect of the non-recurrence of the $25 million in those licensing payment in the first quarter of the previous year. Our preliminary second quarter results extend the trends we saw in the first quarter. Group revenues in the first half of 26 are expected to amount to 300.1 million euros, while adjusted Group EBITDA is expected to land at minus 42.7 million euros compared with the first half of 2025. Our expectation in April for a stronger second half of 2026 was based on two assumptions. A gradual recovery in market activity and increasing contributions from strategic partnership activities. Based on our current visibility for the second half, we're now revising the assumptions on strategic partnerships and as a result, updating our four-year guidance. The key drivers behind this revision are summarized on the right-hand side of the slide and can be grouped into three categories. The first category relates to phasing and milestone related revenues from existing strategic partnerships across both segments. These account for approximately 40% of the revenue difference between our original and updated outlook. Importantly, these revenues are delayed, not lost, and I expect it to be recognized in 27 rather than 26. The second category relates to potential new strategic partnerships in our DNPD segment. We now expect lower than anticipated revenue contributions in the second half of 26 as a result of longer timelines for reaching and finalizing new agreements. This category accounts for approximately 45% of the revenue difference. Importantly, our underlying partnership pipeline remains healthy and active with multiple opportunities at various stages of engagement, including advanced discussions with potential big pharma partners. While we are highly confident about establishing new partnerships, Any agreements reached this year are unlikely to contribute meaningfully to revenue in 26. In addition, the timing and structures of individual deals may influence the balance of upfront cash payments, revenue generating activities, and milestone contributions in 27 and beyond. The third category relates to sales to revenue conversion. Although commercial activity and customer engagement have clearly improved, conversion into revenue has occurred more slowly than anticipated. While a small portion of revenue conversion is expected to shift into 27, approximately 15% of the revenue difference is attributable to lower than expected revenue conversion in 26 relative to our previous guidance. This portion relates to an acceleration objective we had set for ourselves, but which has not materialized to the extent originally assumed. As a result of these factors, we're updating our full year 26 guidance and Claire will speak about this in more detail later. While this revision is clearly disappointing, it is important to emphasize that It is primarily driven by the timing of partnership planning activities and ongoing partnership milestone revenues, rather than any fundamental change in these opportunities. The number and value of partnerships we are pursuing has not changed substantially. However, the conversion of these opportunities will take longer than expected. At the same time, leading commercial indicators in the first half of 26 document encouraging increased activity across our base DMPD business, including strengthening customer engagement and growing net sales. We're confirming the positive momentum highlighted over recent quarters and expect those to pay off from late 26 onwards. In addition, any recovery in the discovery and early development market would provide a further tailwind to growth. I will return to these indicators later in the presentation and discuss them in more detail. But first, I would like to turn things over to Claire for a review of the preliminary and unaudited Q2 and first half 26 numbers.