DGAP-News

SUSS MicroTec publishes audited consolidated financial statements for 2020 - Seite 2

The free cash flow at the end of the 2020 financial year increased and was € 44.0 million after € -36.9 million in the previous year. The cash flow improved strongly due to the increased earnings after tax, higher customer prepayments and a better management trade of receivables. Customer prepayments rose by € 14.1 million compared to the previous year. Furthermore, the reduction in inventories resulted in a positive cash effect of around € 9.6 million. The net liquidity thus improved to € 20.3 million as of December 31, 2020 (previous year: € -18.0 million).

Outlook
After a very strong order entry in the fourth quarter of the 2020 fiscal year and the first quarter of 2021, we can look optimistically to the 2021 fiscal year while keeping the uncertainty of COVID-19 in mind. The general expectations of the semiconductor industry and the individual investment plans of our primary customers raise the expectation of additional growth. The market environment in the semiconductor industry continues to be characterized by increased digitization, higher level of working remotely, and the switch to the mobile communications standard 5G, investments in artificial intelligence and edge technologies.

For 2021 we therefore expect that our products and solutions will be in high demand with our customers in the markets that are relevant for us.

However, we are starting the new fiscal year with a very solid order backlog of about € 120 million and also the first quarter 2021 was drive by a strong demand. Hence, order entry in the first quarter 2021 came in at € 80.7 million after 69.0 million in Q1 2020. Compared to the previous year, we expect a higher order entry and a rising sales level for the 2021 fiscal year in a bandwidth of € 270 million to € 290 million. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) will undergo a corresponding positive development. At this time, we anticipate the EBIT margin to be in a range from 9.0 percent to 11.0 percent.

For the 2021 fiscal year, in view of the necessary investments associated with our strategic growth goals and to improve our production capacities, a free cash flow of between € 12 million and € 18 million is expected. However, free cash flow and net liquidity are strongly dependent on our customers' payment behavior and the down payments. In the event of significant customer payments being postponed to next year, this might have a negative impact on free cash flow and net liquidity in 2021.