Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG

Sales and profit expectations for 2014 fulfilled

Announcement according to SIX adhoc publication article 53 KR

Zurich (pta009/26.02.2015/07:00) - Key points:

- Sales up 4 percent on previous year - Gross and EBIT margins reduced by temporary start-up costs for new products and by currency influences - Proposal to distribute CHF 0.05 per registered share - Board of Directors decides to carry out share buy-back worth up to CHF 20 million - CHF 71 million in sales forecast for first half of 2015; percentage EBIT margin in mid-single digit range

In the 2014 financial year, consolidated net sales at Micronas Group increased 4.3 percent on the previous year to reach CHF 158.5 million. After adjusting the sales figures to exclude the discontinued dashboard controllers, the increase was 8.1 percent. The main contributors to this growth were the Asia region with CHF 92.9 million of sales and 3.5 percent of the growth, and Europe with CHF 51.6 million and 2.1 percent. In Europe, thanks to a targeted strategic expansion of marketing and sales operations, sales growth excluding the old dashboard controllers came to more than 15 percent. The gross margin for the year under review was 31.8 percent of sales, compared with 32.2 percent in the prior year. A total of CHF 27.9 million was spent on research and development. As a percentage of sales, this R&D spending came to 17.6 percent. Operating profit (EBIT) was down from the previous year's CHF 8.1 million to CHF 6.4 million. This gives an EBIT margin for 2014 of 4.0 percent of sales, which is also slightly lower than the prior-year figure of 5.3 percent. Start-up costs for new products, as well as currency influences, had a negative effect on the gross and EBIT margins.

The changeover to euro-denominated invoicing for Japanese customers, which was initiated some years ago, progressed as planned. On average, 35 percent of Japanese sales were invoiced in euros in 2014; this share will be increased to around 75 percent over the next twelve months.

After the financial result and taxes, profit for the 2014 financial year came to CHF 3.4 million, compared with CHF 6.6 million in 2013. Earnings per share stood at CHF 0.12. On December 31, 2014, Micronas reported cash, cash equivalents and short-term financial cash deposits of CHF 151.4 million, a change of CHF 19.0 million on the prior year. This fall is due on the one hand to the investment required for the 8-inch ramp-up in manufacturing areas, and on the other hand to the construction of a combined heat and power plant costing around CHF 5 million. Influenced by the adjustment of pension reserves to the lower level of interest rates, shareholders' equity fell CHF 20.1 million to stand at CHF 109.8 million at the end of 2014. This left the equity ratio at a still solid 36.9 percent.