By Ozan Ergenay
(Reuters) -Aixtron reported on Thursday a strong order intake for the third quarter, even as the German chip systems manufacturer’s quarterly core profit missed market expectations.
The company, which supplies deposition equipment for chipmakers, said its order intake was 143.5 million euros ($156 million), up 21% from 118.5 million euros a year earlier.
The group’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell 17% year-on-year to 37.5 million euros in the quarter, missing analysts’ average estimate of 42.7 million euros in a company-provided poll.
Chip stocks have been under pressure after the U.S. government’s tighter restrictions on exports of chip equipment to China and uncertainty over the U.S. presidential election made investors cautious. Weak demand for automotive, personal computer and memory chips has been only partially offset by increased demand for AI chips.
“Order intake in Q3 of 143.5 million is down vs the Q2 level of 176 million euros. The sequential drop is expected, it is below consensus of 159 million euros but we believe still solid in the current weak environment,” Stifel analyst Juergen Wagner said in a note.
“We believe this explicit and early guidance for next year should be taken well by the market, which has been cutting FY25 consensus in recent weeks given ongoing weakness in the electric vehicle (EV) and silicon carbide (SiC) market,” analysts from Jefferies said in a note.
They continue to believe Aixtron is well-positioned for an eventual recovery in the silicon carbide market due to its leading market share.
Aixtron said that it expects 2025 revenue near the level of fiscal year 2024 or slightly below.
“We see this release as better than some could have feared and 2025 revenue comments did not come as a surprise for us,” analyst Martin Marandon-Carlhian at ODDO BHF told Reuters.
The company also confirmed its full-year guidance for 2024, expecting revenue to be in a range of 620 million to 660 million euros.
($1 = 0.9212 euros)
(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay, editing by Thomas Escritt and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
