Mycronic Posts January-December 2023 Report

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Mycronic announced year-end report for January-December 2023

Fourth quarter

• Order intake amounted to SEK 1,448 (2,529) million, a decrease of 43 percent
• Net sales increased 31 percent to SEK 1,968 (1,497) million. Based on constant exchange rates, the increase in net sales was 30 percent
• EBIT amounted to SEK 620 (262) million and the EBIT margin was 32 (18) percent
• Earnings per share were SEK 5.23 (2.56)

January-December

• Order intake amounted to SEK 6,280 (6,783) million, a decrease of 7 percent
• Net sales increased 11 percent to SEK 5,706 (5,119) million. Based on constant exchange rates, net sales increased 8 percent
• EBIT amounted to SEK 1,235 (894) million and the EBIT margin was 22 (17) percent
• Earnings per share were SEK 10.22 (7.59)
• The Board of Directors proposes a dividend of SEK 4.50 (3.50) per share to the 2024 Annual General Meeting
• Outlook 2024
• It is the Board of Directors’ opinion that net sales for 2024 will be at a level of SEK 6.25 billion.

Comment from Anders Lindqvist, President and CEO:

"We ended the year strongly with an increase in net sales of 31 percent to the new record level of SEK 1,968 million and our best ever EBIT of SEK 620 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin of 32 percent. Order intake was healthy, although we could not match the extremely strong order intake from the fourth quarter of the previous year.

In Pattern Generators, the photomask market for displays has slowed somewhat, while the photomask market for semiconductors was stable. The final quarter of the year was characterized by a focus on execution and delivery of mask writers, which the division managed to do very well by delivering all eight of the planned mask writers and thus securing a strong end to the year. Pattern Generators received orders for four mask writers during the fourth quarter: one Prexision 8 Evo and three SLXs. The division also received its first order to upgrade from gas lasers to solid state lasers in previously installed display mask writers, thereby significantly lowering the mask writers’ energy consumption. These upgrades - along with the solid state lasers in new mask writers - represent milestones in our efforts to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of our mask writers.

In High Flex, demand in Europe and the US remained robust, while there was still no sign of a recovery in China and the rest of Asia. The unique High Flex full line solution portfolio was upgraded during the quarter with the launch of MYPro A40, a new pick-and-place machine, that is the heart of a production line for surface mount technology. The MYPro A40 can handle larger components with a speed increase of up to 50 percent compared to its predecessor, the MY300. During November, the division participated at Productronica, one of the world’s largest electronics production trade fairs, which takes place in Munich every second year. The MYPro A40 was exhibited for the first time at the fair and it received very positive feedback.

During the fourth quarter, High Volume noted increased activity with regards to project inquiries from consumer electronics customers in China, even though it is too early to speak of a turnaround in the market. The division is continuing to focus on expanding its business outside China, accompanying consumer electronics customers mainly to South-East Asia. The expansion abroad associated with the electric vehicle industry is mainly focused on North America and Europe.

The positive trend in Global Technologies linked to AI-related demand continued during the final quarter of the year. This was mainly reflected in strong order intake and net sales in die bonding. The market for electrical testing of printed circuit boards and substrates has been weak, with the exception of high layer count PCBs associated with AI.

We can now look back on a successful 2023, with record-strong net sales and EBIT. In 2024, I am looking forward to our development work yielding exciting new product launches, meaning that we can continue offering innovative and sustainable production solutions to our customers and thereby enabling the future of electronics."