SUSS publishes audited consolidated financial statements for 2019
 

• Incoming orders for the whole year reached € 219.3 million (previous year: € 191.0 million)
• Sales of € 213.8 million up 4.9% from the previous year
• Significant sales and earnings improvement in the photomask equipment and micro-optics segments
• Group EBIT negatively affected by a special write-down in the Lithography division
• Another Supervisory Board member resigned from office

Garching, April 2, 2020 - SUSS MicroTec SE, a leading manufacturer of equipment and process solutions for the semiconductor industry and related markets, published today its consolidated financial statements for fiscal year 2019.

In the previous fiscal year, the company achieved incoming orders of € 219.3 million (previous year: € 191.0 million) and generated sales revenues of € 213.8 million (previous year: € 203.9 million). The order backlog as of 31 December 2019 amounted to € 93.2 million (previous year: € 84.7 million). New orders totalling € 66.0 million were already booked in the third quarter, followed by another strong fourth quarter with € 61.5 million. Thus SUSS MicroTec was able to grow against the trend and strengthen its market position despite the general slowdown in the semiconductor market.

SUSS MicroTec's results for fiscal year 2019 were significantly influenced by the revised market assessment and sales expectations for laser processing tools and UV protection scanners. Accordingly, a special write-down on inventories and production-related fixed assets at SMT Photonics Systems Inc, Corona, USA (SMT PS) in the amount of € 14.2 million was recognized in 2019.

The gross profit margin decreased significantly in the past full year and amounted to 23.2% for the SUSS MicroTec Group (previous year: 33.0%). Adjusted for the special write-down of SMT PS, the gross profit margin was 29.9% which is also below expectations.

SUSS MicroTec generated a negative EBIT of € -13.8 million in fiscal year 2019 (previous year: € 10.9 million). This corresponds to an EBIT margin of -6.5% in 2019 (previous year: 5.3%). Earnings after tax (EAT) amounted to € -16.3 million, compared with € 4.8 million in the previous year. Undiluted earnings per share (EPS) amounted to € -0.85 (previous year: € 0.25).

Free cash flow at the end of the 2019 financial year amounted to € -36.9 million, compared with € -5.0 million in the previous year. This markedly negative cash flow is mainly due to the decrease in contract liabilities (€ -8.9 million) and the strong increase in contract assets (€ +28.2 million). The latter rose sharply due to the high sales in December amounting to € 50.5 million. The net liquidity decreased to minus € 18.0 million as of 31.12.2019 (previous year: € 28.2 million).

Outlook
Despite the continued solid order intake in the third and fourth quarters of fiscal year 2019, management is cautiously optimistic for fiscal year 2020 due to the great uncertainties caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The general expectations of the semiconductor industry and the specific investment projects of SUSS MicroTec's main customers lead to expectations of further growth. The market environment in the semiconductor industry continues to be characterized by emerging trends in the area of digitalization and the wide range of applications in industry, the service sector, and private households. Although COVID-19 will initially have a strong negative impact on the global economy, this pandemic will ultimately reinforce the trend towards digitization and the increased expansion of 5G networks. Therefore, the Company generally expects demand for SUSS MicroTec products and integrated solutions from customers to remain strong in 2020. It is difficult to estimate at this point in time what concrete effects the current negative reports on the spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 and the possible associated economic slowdown will have on SUSS MicroTec.

Taking into account the general and industry-specific market outlook for 2020, the Company currently forecasts that order intake in the first half of 2020 will be in a range of approximately € 100 million to € 110 million. Based on this, revenues of between € 230 million and € 240 million are expected for the fiscal year 2020. At this revenue level, the EBIT for 2020 is anticipated to be in a range of 2.5% to 3.5% of revenue. This includes the one-off effects from the closure of the US production site in Corona. Without these one-off effects, the EBIT margin would be between 4.5% and 5.5%. The negative effects of a further and longer-lasting global spread of the coronavirus COVID-19 cannot be estimated at this time and are not taken into account in this forecast.

In a letter dated March 31, 2020, Jan Teichert informed the Company that he is resigning from his position as a member of the Supervisory Board of SUSS MicroTec SE with the statutory period of notice of one month. The Company thanks Mr. Teichert very much for his many years of commitment and his exceptional contributions to the development and stability of the Company.

Closing of the PiXDRO acquisition
On 31 March 2020, the closing for the acquisition of the inkjet printer division (PiXDRO) of Meyer Burger Deutschland GmbH, which was announced in December 2019, took place. SUSS MicroTec SE is thus taking over approximately 30 employees at its site in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and will consolidate the newly founded company in its consolidated financial statements as of March 31, 2020. PiXDRO sells semi- and fully automatic equipment for inkjet-based coating processes. The annual turnover is around 7 million euros.

Upcoming dates
The publication of the report for the first quarter of 2020 is scheduled for 8 May 2020.
The Annual General Meeting is scheduled for 20 May 2020. Due to the COVID-19-related uncertainties, it is planned to hold the Annual General Meeting virtually.

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. For more information, please visit

Legal Disclaimer
Some of the statements made in this release have the character of forecasts or can be interpreted as such. All information and evaluations are based on extremely conscientious research. However, no responsibility is taken for their publication. Any liability is excluded. The above statements do not constitute an invitation to buy or sell securities. All rights reserved. 

Contact:
SUSS MicroTec SE
Maximilian Fischer
Investor Relations
Schleissheimer Strasse 90
85748 Garching, Deutschland
Tel.: +49 (0)89 32007-161
Fax: +49 (0)89 32007-451
Email: