Pfeiffer Vacuum Delivers Revenue Growth in Q3 2019

For the third quarter 2019, sales reached € 156.2 million, up 2.0 percent compared to the same period in 2018, and EBIT was € 16.1 million, down 22.6. Year-to-date 2019, sales were € 467.3 million, down 4.9 compared to the same period in 2018. In the first nine months 2019, sales were impacted primarily by declines in the semiconductor and coating market. Third quarter 2019 was the first quarter in 2019 where sales in the semiconductor market improved year-over-year. The company is in an investment phase, which in addition to sales performance impacts the EBIT margin.

“Market indicators in the semiconductor and coating market are stabilizing, and we expect demand will accelerate in 2020,” says Dr. Eric Taberlet, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG. “We are executing an ambitious investment plan to drive increased market share and earnings improvements and I am pleased with the progress we are making.”

Nathalie Benedikt, CFO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG, comments: “We are in a very important investment phase. Over a multi-year period we are investing € 150 million to drive growth and profitability. We expect to realize the full benefits of this investment program by 2025.”

Orders
Third quarter 2019 orders were € 156.3 million, the highest level for 2019, compared to € 148.8 million in the first quarter and € 144.9 million in the second quarter 2019.

Sales by Market, Product Group and Geographic Regions
For the nine months ending September 30, 2019, sales decreased by 4.9 percent to € 467.3 million. The year-over-year decline was related to weakness in sales from the semiconductor market, which decreased year-over-year by 15.9 percent to € 156.5 million as well as declines in the coating market of 20.1 percent to € 61.5 million. This was partially offset by strong demand in the industry market segment, which increased 13.9 percent to € 110.0 million, research & development (R&D) business, which grew 10.6 percent to € 48.8 million, and analytics, up 3.5 percent to € 90.5 million.

In terms of product groups, turbopumps recorded the largest sales, with the most significant year-over-year sales increases of 2.9 percent to € 145.2 million year-to-date. Year-over-year sales also improved for service, by 1.2 percent to € 84.3 million, and systems by 2.1 percent to € 11.6 million. This was offset by year-over-year sales declines for instruments and components of 9.1 percent to € 132.2 million and backing pumps by 14.7 percent to € 93.9 million, primarily related to the semiconductor and coating market conditions.

While sales in all geographic regions declined year-over-year for the first 9 months, the primary decline was in Asia, with 9.4 percent to € 167.6 million. Third quarter 2019 sales grew year-over-year in all geographic regions.

Operating Performance
EBIT for the nine months ending September 30, 2019 was € 48.9 million or 10.5 percent of sales, compared to € 68.5 million and 13.9 percent for the same period in 2018. The year-over-year decline was due to lower sales and expanded costs related to strategic investments to achieve higher market share and EBIT margin of above 20 percent. Foreign currency effects had a slightly positive impact on results.

Outlook
For fiscal year 2019, Pfeiffer Vacuum expects sales of € 620 to 640 million, and an EBIT margin of around 10 percent. In addition, capital expenditures are expected to be about € 30 million.