We are very positive about the coming years. Our strategy of focusing on selected product categories is very successful. We expect to continue growing faster than the market in the future. From 2024 to 2028, we expect organic growth of 7% on average each year. Profitability should make disproportionately strong progress.

For 2028 our five growth pillars are expected to generate as much turnover as the company as a whole in the current year, i.e. around 2 billion dollars. Being focused is crucial for a medium-sized company, as we always want to take a leading position in our market segment.

With our products we can still make inroads into market segments that we haven't yet addressed. The coronavirus pandemic has also raised awareness of the benefits of prevention among doctors and patients, and this should continue. Early, valid diagnoses create a high therapeutic benefit. This applies to oncology and infectious diseases, for example, where we have a strong market position.

Qiagen is active in all important markets worldwide. We generate around half of our sales in North America, a third in Europe and around 20% in emerging markets. The markets in the USA are currently doing very well. Europe is somewhat more volatile, but we do not believe that this is sustainable. Europe should catch up again in the medium term. Historically, both regions have always grown at a comparable rate.

Many countries are doing very well here, too. China has fallen back significantly due to the macro environment. We also expect the trend to improve here in the medium term. There is always volatility, which generally balances out quite well for us globally. Healthcare in general, and diagnostics in particular, are meeting with sustained demand, because nobody wants to do without them. We are continuing to grow.

There are two trends. We are benefiting from better utilisation of our production capacities. During the Covid pandemic, we expanded these significantly and were able to utilise them fully during this time. We are having to scale this back again once the pandemic-related demand subsides. The focus on high-growth product groups in which we are already the technology and market leader, or want to become one in the near future, is also having an impact on margins.

On the M&A side, smaller and medium-sized acquisitions are more likely. We focus on innovative technologies that are about to be launched on the market, and that we can integrate into our global distribution network. In the product area, we are focussing on bioinformatics for the targeted analysis of health data in diagnostics. Many very innovative small companies cannot access the market on their own.

The ratio of net debt to EBITDA is less than one. We have financial flexibility for M&A, investments, and repayments to our shareholders.

This is not on the horizon because we have already built up capacity during the Covid period. Cash flow will increase disproportionately over the next few years.

If you exclude the extraordinary expenses, cash flow this year is significantly better than in 2023.

In principle, we are open to various options. The repayment can be made via a regular or synthetic share buyback or a dividend. The models have different tax advantages for different shareholders. With a synthetic share buyback, we are able to accommodate many of our shareholders. A synthetic share buyback combines a reduction in the number of shares with a tax-free payout to shareholders, including in Germany. Many of our shareholders and those of other Dutch companies consider this to be a good model.

We are under no great pressure to act. Qiagen has a very strong balance sheet and a strong cash flow. Two upcoming repayments of convertible bonds, which had desirable interest rates, will be settled in cash. Any refinancing will be largely dependent on attractive market conditions.

We have always had good experience with longer-term convertible bonds to be settled in cash. This is an instrument with which we have been successful on the market for a long time.