Siltronic reports very good Q1 and expects positive business develop-ment for 2021

In Q1 2021, Siltronic AG (MDAX/TecDAX: WAF) recorded a significant increase in wafer area sold and a corresponding growth in sales of around 11 percent compared to Q4 2020.

"We saw a very positive business development in Q1 and raised our forecast for the current year by ad hoc announcement on April 20, 2021. We assume that the wafer area sold will increase by at least 15 percent, which is significantly higher than previously expected. Only the strong Euro will slow down our growth somewhat," said Dr. Christoph von Plotho, CEO of Siltronic AG. "In an environment of rising demand and continued investments in digitization, we have further increased our productivity."

Business Development in Q1 2021

Siltronic generated sales of EUR 316.1 million in Q1 2021, an increase of 11.1 percent versus Q4 2020. This increase is mainly due to the higher wafer area sold. The influence of exchange rates and prices was not significant.

Cost of sales increased less than the wafer area sold. Manufacturing costs per wafer area decreased noticeably compared to Q4 2020, mainly resulting from fix cost dilution.

The increase in wafer area sold and the decreasing manufacturing costs per wafer area led to a gross profit of EUR 88.6 million, an increase of EUR 15.8 million compared to Q4 2020. The gross margin rose from 25.6 percent to  28.0 percent.

EBITDA in Q1 2021 was EUR 91.7 million, an increase of 36.5 percent compared to Q4 2020. The EBITDA margin rose from 23.6 percent to  29.0 percent. In both Q4 2020 and Q1 2021, those numbers include external expenses related to the tender offer of GlobalWafers. These additional expenses for capital market and legal advisory costs are included in administrative expenses and amounted to around EUR 12 million in Q4 2020 and around EUR 2 million in Q1 2021.

EBIT - including the above mentioned additional expenses due to the GlobalWafers tender offer - increased from EUR 28.4 million in Q4 2020 to EUR 54.2 million in Q1 2021.

The Siltronic employees mastered the operational challenges of the Corona pandemic with great commitment, so that there was no significant impact on sales and results.

The tax income generated in Q1 2021 is mostly due to deferred taxes. The improved outlook has increased the recoverability of future tax benefits. In addition, a change in tax law resulted in a tax benefit.

A net profit of EUR 58.4 million was generated in Q1, compared to EUR 40.9 million in Q4 2020. Of this amount, EUR 50.1 million is attributable to Siltronic AG shareholders. Earnings per share rose from EUR 1.17 in Q4 2020 to EUR 1.67 in Q1 2021.

Development of equity, net cash flow and net financial assets

With equity of EUR 1,078.6 million at March 31, 2021, Siltronic AG's equity ratio was 53.7 percent compared with 45.4 percent at December 31, 2020. The increase in equity is based on the net income for the quarter of EUR 58.4 million and actuarial gains in the calculation of pension obligations of EUR 124 million.

The EUR 118.0 million decrease in pension obligations is due to higher interest rates. The interest rate in Germany rose from 0.69 percent at the end of 2020 to 1.11 percent at the end of Q1 2021. The interest rate in the USA rose from 2.07 percent to 2.77 percent in the same period.

The free cash flow of EUR 29.6 million in Q1 2021 shows that Siltronic was able to finance the entire cashflow for capex including intangible assets from operating activities without any problems.

The net cash flow of EUR 27.9 million shows Siltronic's cash surplus after the elimination of period shifts due to customer prepayments.

The company had net financial assets of EUR 538.1 million at March 31, 2021.

Forecast update

The expectation on the growth of wafer area sold has increased significantly since the annual report was published. Therefore, Siltronic AG's forecast was raised in an ad hoc announcement on April 20, 2021. The company now expects an increase in wafer area sold of at least 15 percent. Depending on further exchange rate developments, Siltronic forecasts sales growth of at least 10 percent year-on-year. The EBITDA margin is expected in a range of 30 to 32 percent. Net cash flow and earnings per share are forecasted to improve significantly year-on-year.

"We expect a very positive development of business performance in 2021 based on a sustainably high demand," said Dr. Christoph von Plotho. "Siltronic is well positioned with a strong balance sheet and an excellent net financial position. Our goal is to maintain our good cost and high-quality performance. Thus, Siltronic is benefiting from the long-term growth trends in the wafer sector due to multiple end-applications," von Plotho said.

Conference call for analysts and investors

The Executive Board of Siltronic AG will hold a conference call with analysts and investors (in English only) on May 7, 2021 at 10:00 am (CEST). This call will be streamed via the Internet. The audio webcast will be available live as well as on demand on Siltronic’s website.

The Q1 interim statement and the latest investor presentation are also published on the Siltronic website.

Other dates:

July 28, 2021                Interim Report 2021

October 26, 2021          Q3 2021 quarterly statement