Garching, July 27, 2023 – After a thorough analysis of the expected sales and earnings development in the second half of the year, the Management Board of SÜSS MicroTec SE has concluded that the guidance for the full year 2023 is probably not achievable. This is due to the disappointing business development in the MicroOptics segment in the first half of 2023, combined with the uncertainty as to whether there will be a noticeable improvement in the situation in the second half of the year.

In the first half of the year, sales in the MicroOptics segment fell by 40.1 % to € 13.0 million (previous year: € 21.7 million). EBIT deteriorated from € 1.4 million in the first half of 2022 to € -3.6 million in the first half of 2023. Due to the uncertainties in procurement, important customers had purchased far in excess of their requirements in the past year, resulting in above-average sales growth. In the current year, these customers are now gradually reducing their high inventory levels. This effect led to a sharp drop in orders and therefore also in sales in the first half of 2023. It is not certain whether this situation will improve noticeably in the further course of this year. Based on current estimates, a segment EBIT of € -5.5 million is expected for the 2023 financial year.

Accordingly, the company expects to achieve full-year 2023 sales in the range of € 320 million to € 340 million (previously: € 320 million to € 360 million). The company expects the gross profit margin to be in the range of 35.5 % to 37.5 % (previously: 37 % to 38 %). The EBIT margin for the full year 2023 is expected to be between 9% and 11% (previously: 10 % to 12 %).

According to preliminary figures, SUSS MicroTec generated a robust order intake of € 187.5 million in the first half of 2023. In the further course of the year, order intake could benefit from the announced capacity expansions and related investments in semiconductors for AI applications. Based on preliminary figures, sales increased by 15.7 % to € 144.4 million in the first six months. In the second quarter, growth thus amounted to around 20 % after +11.2 % in the first quarter. The semiconductor core segments Advanced Backend Solutions and Photomask Solutions were thus able to more than compensate for the weak sales of the MicroOptics segment.

According to preliminary figures, the gross profit margin was 33.8 % in the first half of 2023 (previous year: 35.1 %). The weak business development in the MicroOptics segment has negatively impacted the gross profit margin by 1.8 percentage points in the year to date. EBIT increased in the first half of the year to € 8.4 million (previous year: € 5.1 million) due to the positive sales development and a higher gross profit in absolute terms, a disproportionately low increase in selling, general and administration and development expenses, and a positive currency effect according to preliminary figures. The EBIT margin in the first half of 2023 was thus 5.8 % (previous year: 4.1 %).

The full 2023 half-year financial report will be published on August 3, 2023, as planned.

Media contact:
Sven Koepsel
Vice President Investor Relations, Corporate Communications and Corporate Marketing
Email: sven.koepsel@suss.com
Phone: +49 89 32007151

About SUSS MicroTec
SUSS MicroTec is a leading supplier of equipment and process solutions for microstructuring in the semiconductor industry and related markets. In close cooperation with research institutes and industry partners SUSS MicroTec contributes to the advancement of next-generation technologies such as 3D Integration and nanoimprint lithography as well as key processes for MEMS and LED manufacturing. With a global infrastructure for applications and service SUSS MicroTec supports more than 8.000 installed systems worldwide. SUSS MicroTec is headquartered in Garching near Munich, Germany. The shares of SUSS MicroTec SE are traded in the Prime Standard of the German Stock Exchange (ISIN DE000A10K0235). For more information, please visit http://www.suss.com.

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