We stand fully behind our targets. There are certain intra-year patterns in our business. Traditionally, a large number of orders come in towards the end of the year. We have a large pipeline of orders in progress – spread across various regions, end markets, and customers.

Optoelectronic markets are still very important for us. We've been working towards power electronics for years. The entire addressable market there is very large and continues to grow, as we're talking about the entire power supply for all electronic devices – from mobile phones, laptops, and televisions to heat pumps, air conditioners, and even cars. Currently, the market still relies on very mature silicon technology. However, the new materials, gallium nitride and silicon carbide, are significantly superior in their physical properties. Both have begun to replace silicon. Gallium nitride currently has a penetration rate of only 3%. The potential is enormous because gallium nitride is becoming more affordable while being significantly more energy-efficient. We expect gallium nitride to bring substantial growth for us by the end of the decade.

Yes, there are different semiconductor manufacturers than those in LEDs. Our business used to be very Asia-centric, but now it's diversifying. There are strong power electronics manufacturers in Europe and the USA, such as Texas Instruments, Wolfspeed, or Bosch, who are our customers. With the growing e-mobility, the charging infrastructures need to be built first, creating a significant demand for silicon carbide-based chips. Since the launch of our corresponding facility in September 2022, we have reached a market share of around 50% in this rapidly growing market.

Currently, general cycles in the semiconductor industry concern us less because gallium nitride and silicon carbide applications substitute existing technolologies, and we see a certain economic boom in already rapidly growing markets. The technological risk is, of course, always present in our industry.

In the past, we heavily focused on pure technology of the highest quality and somewhat neglected the cost aspect. For several years now, we have been concentrating not only on quality but also on productivity and cost efficiency. That was a learning experience. We were a bit late in terms of technology for OLED, but with our current technologies, we are absolute pioneers. From that, we also concluded to stay close to our core competencies, which is the deposition of inorganic compound semiconductors.

China is and remains an important market. However, the revenue share has decreased to around 20 to 30% simply because other markets, especially in the power electronics sector, have grown more strongly.

This issue has concerned us for about a year. However, we see that the situation is gradually normalizing, and processing times are getting shorter again. We have not lost a single order due to the delay in export licenses. We expect the problem to be completely resolved by the end of 2024, and then it will no longer be an issue for us. We have adapted to this by applying for export licenses very early, directly upon order receipt.

Aixtron has always recognized technologies and trends early on and brought them to market maturity over many years. This was true when Aixtron was founded for the LED sector, and it is true now for power electronics, and in the long term for further applications of our technology. We need a lot of cleanroom capacity – for our own R&D, but also to intensify cooperation with our customers and promote joint developments.

We will temporarily see noticeably increased investments. The majority will be booked over the quarters of the coming year, as the groundbreaking is happening now, and completion is planned for 2025. Our income statement will be less affected due to the long depreciation periods.

Micro-LED will be the next disruptive display technology that will replace LCD and OLED displays. The image quality is far superior to existing technology, especially in open sunlight. Additionally, it is associated with significantly higher energy efficiency, meaning Micro-LED displays will consume up to 90% less power. Major consumer electronics manufacturers are consistently driving their development of Micro-LED. However, there are still technical challenges that are not at the level of our value chain. We are ready.

Today, a Micro-LED television still costs 100,000 euros. But it's not a question of whether the technology will come, but when it will be available on a commercial scale. For us, the market potential for Micro-LED is similarly large as in power electronics. We see business opportunities similar to gallium nitride or silicon carbide.

We have many ideas and approaches for further material systems and novel compound semiconductors with enormous potential for further applications – especially in the field of quantum computing. I can't reveal more here, as it's in the nature of our business that these innovation cycles take 10 to 15 years.

We have the strategy, the necessary capital, and the technologies and competencies to independently implement our ideas and realize the potential. We lack nothing. We have no need. Hostile takeovers are also rather uncommon in our industry because the sector is very innovation and people-driven.

So far, we have been able to handle growth very well on our own. Texas Instruments recently awarded us not only for our product but also for customer service. We also have a very flexible operating model in the sense that our value-added depth in production is relatively low. We handle the final assembly, but component manufacturing is taken care of by suppliers. Therefore, we don't need to build large new production capacities. Growth is not as capital-intensive for us.

Within a few years, we have almost doubled our workforce. In the job market, like in the stock market, you need a good story nowadays. We have that. Here, talents can work on technology as they can't in many other places.