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Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Full Year Results 2020 conference call and live webcast. I am Alice, the Chorus Call Operator. I would like to remind you that all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a Q&A session. You can register for questions at any time by pressing star and 1 on your telephone. For operator assistance, please press star and 0. The conference must not be recorded for publication or broadcast. At this time, it's my pleasure to hand over to Marco Knuchel, Head of Investor Relations at Schindler. Please go ahead.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to our full year results 2020 webcast. My name is Marco Knuchel. I'm Head of Investor Relations at Schindler. I'm here together with Thomas Oetterle, our CEO, and Urs Scheidecker, our CFO. Thomas will give you a short introduction and guide you through our results. Urs will then take you through our financials. After the presentation, we are happy to take your questions. I would like to ask you to limit your questions to two questions only. Thank you very much. With that, I hand over to Thomas. Thomas, please go ahead.

Thanks, Marco. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. I wish you all a healthy and successful year 2021. And a special warm welcome also to our colleagues in Asia Pacific. I wish you a successful year Before we start with our topic according to the agenda, I would like to make some general remarks first. The extraordinary global crisis caused by COVID-19 has made 2020 a year like no other before. I want to extend my sympathies to all those who have suffered personal loss and anxiety during this difficult time. Like the rest of the world, the events of 2020 deeply impacted us at Schindler. In addition, the continuous Swiss franc appreciation heavily weighted on our results. But through decisive actions and by working together, we have managed to continue building long-term value. I would like to thank the over 66,000 Schindler colleagues around the world who have responded to uncertainty with resilience and solidarity. We met the ever-changing circumstances of 2020 with agility and innovation. Our business model proved resilient, and the group financial results we are presenting to you today are reflecting this. I start with the megatrends and the market analysis. So please go to page number four. I repeat what you have heard me say many times before. We are in for the long term. Therefore, regardless what happened in 2020, we are staying focused. Growing faster than the market remains our top ambition. The megatrends that underlie our industry continue to drive growth. Demographic changes and advancing urbanization, among other global megatrends, continue to benefit our business. They drive demand for more vertical space to live and to work in. And last but not least, sustainability has become a key theme in our world. For the society, for our customers, for our suppliers, but especially for us. Please go to slide number five. And indeed, if you look at the bigger picture of the global elevator and escalator markets, over the long term, you see a story of growth. Over the last 20 years, the global new installations market saw a compound annual growth rate of 6.5%. At the same time, the global installed base grew by 5.4%. Looking ahead, you will see long-term growth in the new installation business, driven by those megatrends of changing demographics and urbanization. You can also see a resilient service business. And you can see modernization opportunities, which going forward will be driven by an aging installed base, as well as increased demand for eco-friendlier solutions. We go to slide number six, the global markets. In 2020, the global markets were muted for obvious reasons. Exactly one year ago, I was among the first to warn of the significant implications the coronavirus was likely to have on markets globally. And so it turned out to be. The pandemic led to the temporary shutdown of production plants and the closure of construction sites globally. Impacts of the pandemic peaked in the second quarter and gradually diminished during the second half of the year. The Chinese market was the first to recover from the crisis. Following a sharp decline in the first quarter, Chinese GDP recorded a V-shaped recovery and a rapid resumption of construction activity. As a consequence, the world's most important market for elevators and escalators recorded growth in 2020. However, there were varying degrees of decline in other regions of the world. Let's have a look on our market assumptions for 2021 and beyond on slide number seven and later slide number eight. Of course, uncertainties remain, but we expect growth for 2021 across the board in all regions and also for all product lines. Major recoveries are forecasted for Asia Pacific without China, and we do see momentum in residential and public transport for new installations. Also, we clearly see the strong resilience of our maintenance business. But like I said many times, Schindler is committed to its long-term ambition. On slide number eight, the key question is, is COVID-19 a game changer for our industry? Looking at scenarios with all we know today, I don't think so. We expect currently heavily affected geographies and segments, such as the retail and hospitality sectors, to slowly recover. Ongoing price pressure will push for more efficiency in the industry. But in fact, our long-term outlook is positive. Smart mobility solutions such as touchless elevator operations and operation via remote control will become a major industry driver. Working from home is here to stay, but that doesn't mean that offices won't be needed anymore. There will be a stronger focus on more space per person and, in consequence, increasing demand for office space. In addition, the need for transportation infrastructure will continue to grow, driven by megatrends and government spendings. I would like to move now to our focus and priorities in the coming years. As you will know by now, it's our ambition to grow faster than the market. One of the main ways to get there is by fostering a winning team and improving profitability. This hasn't changed, even after a year like 2020. And we will continue vigorously with our Schindler way, creating a unique user experience and doing our business sustainably. I'm leading a team of over 66,000 colleagues across the world who have worked hard towards achieving our strategic priorities today. every single day. They are creating an outstanding customer experience, driving data-driven innovation, fostering a high-performance culture, and remaining cost competitive. Please move now to slide number 11. Naturally, there have been difficult challenges, but we also saw plenty of operational highlights in 2020. As I mentioned, the ever-changing circumstances of 2020 led to agility, innovation and solidarity. Safety and well-being of people is our number one priority. It's one of our core values and one that we live and breathe. Schindler employees across the globe have been keeping critical infrastructure running to ensure safe transportation in their communities. We have been providing them and our workforce in the factories with personal protection equipment and introduced additional hygienic and protective measures to keep them safe. Wherever possible, we enforced working from home as physical distancing has proven effective in the past. Schindler colleagues have shown great adaptability, solidarity, and leading engagement, as reported in our latest employee survey. And even during this remarkable time, Schindler continued to build on its deeply rooted culture of innovation. For instance, the growing focus on health and well-being led to the launch of the eight new Schindler Clean Mobility solutions in record time. We have a clear view on the long term and are determined to generate sustained value for all the company's stakeholders. Schindler has swiftly adapted to the new market realities. We are a reliable and trusted partner for our customers, have been ensuring business continuity and adjusting organizational and cost structures to preserve our competitiveness. while continuing to invest into the future. We believe in data-driven innovation and accelerated our investments in strategic initiatives, such as our Digital Twin project and Schindler Ahead, to name just a few. And we continuously increased our investments over the last five years. Our aim is is to enhance quality and customer centricity of our products and services, as well as promote innovation and connectivity. We keep building on a strong heritage of innovation. Schindler holds 1,200 patent families, comprising about 20,000 patents and patent applications worldwide. 150 patent applications were filed in 2020 alone. At the same time, we try to fundamentally rethink and redesign business processes for constant improvements in operational costs, quality, services, and development time. We invest in the future through innovation and technology. So let's have a deeper look into our digital innovation roadmap on slide number 14. We have developed integrated solutions that power the digital transformation in buildings. These integrated solutions include a holistic building transit experience through access control and transit management using Schindler port technology. All Schindler elevators are fully enabled for this technology, which makes buildings more attractive, more efficient and more valuable. Secondly, integrated means intelligent building technology and autonomous installation. Schindler's robotic installation system for elevators, Schindler RISE, was deployed commercially for the first time in customer projects, including the Warsaw Tower in Warsaw and the tallest skyscrapers in the European Union. Schindler Rise is the world's first self-climbing autonomous robotic system able to conduct installation work in an elevator shaft. Building on enhanced connectivity, new digital services has been launched to provide our customers with tailored support and faster response times through Schindler AHEAD digital services. We have created a building integration toolbox and an API platform. We are constantly working on unique user experiences, for instance, through the Schindler Elevate Me app and Schindler Digital Media Services. And with that, please take a look at our new modular elevator range that features these integrated solutions and is designed for sustainable vertical mobility.