Aurubis Ag Unsp/Adr

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the analyst call. The conference will be recorded. At this time, all participants have been placed on a listen-only mode. The floor will be open for questions following the presentation. Let me now turn the floor over to LK Brinkman, Head of Investor Relations.

Good afternoon, and welcome to our Q3 2025-26 conference call. We will walk you through the results for the first nine months of our fiscal year. With us on the call are our CEO Toval Farg and CFO Steffen Hochmann. After the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions. If you would like to ask a question during the Q&A session, please use the combination star nine home key separate. Before we start, let me draw your attention to our disclaimer. We will make forward-looking statements today. These are based on current plans and expectations and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ unilaterally. That being said, let me now turn the floor over to Thomas Haag.

Thank you, Eike, and good morning and good afternoon from sunny Hamburg. Before we dive into the details later in the presentation, let me provide you with a high-level overview of the performance in the first nine months. Operating EBT increased significantly by 31% to 374 million euros compared to the previous year, in line with expectations. Operating FETA came in at 570 million euros. The improved performance in the first nine months was supported by markedly higher earnings in Q3 of fiscal year 2025-26, where operating EBT came in at €149 million, a 23% increase versus Q2 of the current fiscal year. Net cash flow was minus €28 million, considerably below last year's €357 million. This is mainly due to the temporary build-up of the intermediate product inventories to supply the phase commissioning of the expanded tankhouse in build-up. As just highlighted, the increase in inventories is a temporary effect, which by the fiscal year end we expect the net cash flow to be above the prior year level of €677 billion. As alluded to in our Q2 analyst call, free cash flow before dividend came in as expected significantly negative at minus €365 million compared to minus €211 million last year. Based on our latest planning, we continue to expect the free cash flow before dividend to break even at a minimum for the full fiscal year 2025-2026. Operating return on capital employed increased to 9.4%, up from 9.1%, reflecting improved earnings performance and partly offset by the temporary inventory buildup. In light of the improved results after nine months and our current planning, from today's perspective, we anticipate operating EBT to come in around the upper end of the forecast range for the 25-26 fiscal year. Let us now have a look at how the market environment developed over the last quarter. Against the backdrop of an exceptionally tight market environment, sulfuric acid was one of the most supportive earnings drivers during the third quarter. As the ongoing Middle East shipping restrictions and the Chinese export ban for sulfuric acid are lifting prices to new highs. European spot copper premiums remained at high levels, supported by healthy demand for refined copper. In recycling markets, spot refining charges for scrap No. 2 stayed above prior year levels, despite a moderate easing during the quarter. By contrast, concentrate markets remain very challenging. Spot TCRCs for copper concentrates declined further and remained under pressure. A smaller demand continues to outpace mine supply. With regard to the price environment of our key metals, copper continued its upward trend during the third quarter. This was supported by robust demand expectations and a constructive market backdrop. Gold and silver remained at historically elevated levels as well, although both metals saw some consolidation compared to the exceptionally strong levels reached earlier this year. The EURUSD exchange rate fluctuated during the quarter, but remained within a relatively narrow trading range. As always, bear in mind that there is no direct one-to-one relationship between spot-five and our reported earnings. As part of our exposure ahead, as part of our exposure ahead, and some effects materialize with the timeline. And now I would like to hand over to Stefan. He will walk you through our performance in the third quarter and the financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year.