Siltronic Ag Ord

Hello, everyone, and welcome to the presentation of Siltronics' full year 2024 results. Please note that this call is being recorded and streamed on Siltronics' website. The call will also be available as an on-demand version later today. Your participation in this call implies your consent with this. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Verena Stutzitz, Head of Investor Relations, and communications of Siltronic AG.

Thank you, Shelly. Welcome, everybody, to our full year 24 results presentation. This call will also be webcast live on Siltronic.com. A replay of the call will be available on our website shortly after the end of the call. Our CEO, Michael Heckmeyer, and our CFO, Claudia Schmidt, will give you an overview of our financials, the current market developments, and our guidance. After the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions. Please note that management comments during this call will include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of risk factors, I encourage you to review the safe harbor statement contained in today's press release and presentation. All documents relating to our full year 24 reporting are available on our website. I now turn the call over to Michael for his remarks.

Thank you, Verena, and a warm welcome also from my side. As always, let's begin with the key messages of today's call. Despite the challenges in 2024, we achieved our annual guidance at the upper end. We've demonstrated our ability to navigate effectively through this period of subdued demand. On the market side, our semi-based market share remains stable year over year. A positive 300 millimeter development compensated our decreasing SD sales due to the planned exit of this business. On the cost and cash side, we have implemented a stringent program to manage this phase effectively. The rate of our new FAB in Singapore is progressing well, and the important prime qualifications for the new FAB are expected by mid-2025. And at the end of our presentation, I will walk you through our 25 guidance. Let's start with a broad overview of our developments in the financial year. Claudia will then give you a detailed breakdown. Year-over-year sales declined by 7%, which was at the upper end of the range. Our profitability remained resilient within an EBITDA margin of 26%. Although we have definitely passed the peak of our investment phase, the still elevated capex of 523 million euros and the payment overhang from last year's capex half as anticipated resulted in a continued negative net cash flow. Consequently, net financial debt increased to 734 million euros. We have demonstrated that despite this prolonged period of weak demand, we were able to achieve resilient ABDA margins. This was accomplished by implementing a comprehensive package of measures focused on cost and cash management. We transitioned our production from maximum output to high productivity and efficiency as soon as demand weakened. As a result, our labor costs were adjusted to the lower output through the use of working time accounts, a reduction of the number of temporary employees, implementing a qualified hiring freeze, and starting indirect headcount programs. Additionally, we intensified our efforts to optimize costs across other areas. On the cash side, we significantly reduced our capex payments in 2024 and plan a further reduction in 2025. We are also working on strict and effective working capital management. Another necessary step in this is our proposal to the annual general meeting on May 12 to reduce the dividend to $0.20 per share. This corresponds to a payout ratio of approximately 10% of the consolidated net income attributable to Siltronics shareholders. While we are effectively managing costs and cash, we are prepared for growth. At the heart of this, our customers, driving our commitment to excellence. We are proud to do business with all big names in our industry. These relationships, along with our close partnerships with other major players in the semiconductor value chain and our R&D spending, drive our technological advancements and ensure we stay ahead of the curve as a technology leader. This commitment to innovation has confirmed our position as a successful development partner for the latest design and rule developments. We are ideally positioned with our clear focus on leading-edge technologies. Our strategy has proven effective during this prolonged period of soft demand. For leading-edge wavers, we have maintained high loading levels in 2024 and expect the same for 2025. In short, our strategy ensures that we are prepared for growth, and this growth is further supported by our new leading-edge capacities in Singapore. And speaking of our new FAP in Singapore, I would like to share some insights on the customer qualification process and its timeline. As communicated, the first test waivers were produced in November 2023. Throughout 24, we successfully completed multiple low-spec qualifications. We are now working on the key prime qualifications. The waivers for these qualifications are now being evaluated by our customers and are likely being processed as we speak. This takes several quarters, and once completed, we expect to receive the major prime qualifications probably by mid-2025. As you know, this will also trigger the planned depreciation of the new FAB. And as a reminder, regarding the new FAB, we will continue to ramp the FAB at a reduced pace also in 2025. As the lead times for some critical equipments have shortened significantly, The decision for 2026 will be taken later this year based on market demand and visibility. And as a reminder, our target for this Fed remains unchanged. We expect the EBITDA margin to be above 50% on the medium term, making a significant contribution to our group margin. Let me now hand over to Claudia for details into our financial performance before I come back with an update on the market developments and the guidance. Claudia, please.