Aixtron says 2025 sales to be at lower end of guidance

By Ozan Ergenay

(Reuters) -German chip systems manufacturer Aixtron said on Friday that its 2025 sales would be in the lower half of its initial guidance range due to a slower-than-expected market recovery.

The company now expects 2025 revenues between 530 million and 565 million euros ($619-$660 million), compared with the 530 million and 600 million euros previously targeted.

It also expects earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) margin of around 17% to 19% for the year, having previously a forecast range of 18%-22%.

Semiconductor materials suppliers have been suffering from slower than expected inventory reductions by customers, as weak demand for automotive, PC and memory chips has been only partially offset by artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand.

Chip stocks also have been under pressure after U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and uncertainty over his trade policies, adding to the pressure on the industry.

"The demand upturn has not yet materialized in Q3, such that we are now narrowing the revenue guidance for the full-year to the lower half of the initial range," CEO Felix Grawert said in a statement. He said quarterly results were negatively impacted by volume shifts and foreign-exchange effects.

However, Grawert said that Aixtron's medium- and long-term drivers, such as new 800V architectures for AI data centers using both silicon carbide and gallium nitride, remain intact.

"By expanding our market position, we will benefit disproportionately from the next upturn," he added.

Aixtron's third-quarter gross profit came in at 46 million euros against 67.1 million in 2024, as its EBIT amounted to 15 million euros, down from 37.5 million a year earlier.

The company's shares pared earlier losses and were down 2.3% as of 1413 GMT, after falling as much as 12% immediately after the announcement.

($1 = 0.8565 euros)

(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay and Emanuele Berro in Gdansk, editing by Thomas Escritt, Ludwig Burger and Matt Scuffham)