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Aixtron – lagging peers, but pieces coming together for an expected standout 2021+, with lots of upside potential not reflected in numbers. upgrade to OFI unlike its semi equipment peers (+107$ vs. SOFL⁄Euro Tech +60$⁄+25$), 2019 was a difficult year for Aixtron with shares flat as end-markets remained weak and the 2018 3D sensing overbuild limited customer orders. Despite such challenges we would argue that 2019 was still robust, with Aixtron expecting to reach the lower end of its sales guidance at €260M (VS. GUIDE €260-290M) DESPITE A C€30M pushout of its partial ApEFFA tool into 2020. More importantly, as we look forward we see a multitude of growth drivers, many of which could represent a true step change for the stock. FIe see the largest drivers as: OLED (Samsung) opportunity: FIhile the qualification process with Samsung is taking longer than many expected, the opportunity still remains. Importantly SamsuNG’S RECENT FIVE-year plan to invest $11bn in display illustrates its commitment to re-ENTER oled tv. tHE SUCCESS OF WHICH WILL DEPEND ON sAMSUNG’S ability to increase manufacturing efficiency (e.g. reduce material wastage) which it plans to achieve with AIXTRON’S DEPOSITION TECHNOLOGY. gIVEN sAMSUNG’S commitment we view a higher likelihood of success for qualification, but still acknowledge the technical risks around the process. If Aixtron were able to ship a full tool for high volume manufacturing, we woULD EXPECT AROUND €100-200m of SALES (VS. 2021 GROUP SALES OF €330M). wE WOULD ONLY EXPECT THIS IN 2021/22. Si¢: FIith the recent rush to expand Si¢ capacity (e.g. ¢ree $1bn capex plan, ST acquisition of Norstel), it is unsurprising that this will be a significant growth opportunity. The key question for investors will be how much share Aixtron will have, with Tokyo Electron currently leading. Aixtron is currently targeting 50$ share on a market of 50-60 tools on a tool ASp of $3.5-4m representing a sales oPPORTUNITY TO aIXTRON OF €105-140m (vs. our 2021 power Electronic sales of €54m). FIith Aixtron taking share at ¢ree and gaining significant share with others, we expect to see a significant uptick in 2021⁄22. MicroLED: The other area of considerable upside potential is MicroLED where Aixtron is a clear market leader with the only multi-wafer tool capable of high volume production. FFeeco remains considerably behind as they struggle with wafer uniformity. FIe only expect MicroLED to have a material impact on Aixtron from 2021+ and look for any form of product road map from major OEMs (e.g. whether Apple decides to move to MicroLED in its next gen watch). Return of 3D⁄Opto: FIhile 2019 3D sensing demand was largely supported by prior capacity build out in 2018, we think customers will need to return to expand capacity in 2020⁄21. Our industry work predicts a significant ramp in 3D sensing smartphone units in 2020⁄21 to 277m⁄350m (vs. 170m in 2019) driven by greater adoption in Android. Adding further upside would be the potential adoption of world-facing 3D by Apple which would increase our 2020 3D module unit estimate to c320m, almost doubling 2019 levels. given that Aixtron supplies both the likes of IqE (into Lumentum) and FFpE¢ (into FIin Semi), it is largely insulated from supply chain shifts. (See our recently published note on ams for further detail on our 3D sensing industry forecasts: ams: The Odd ¢ouple, published 17 December 2019). given the lack of visibility we do not include the OLED, Si¢ or MicroLED opportunity in our numbers, but we do expect these to gather pace from 2h20 through 2021. If even one of these were to materialize to the upside, we could see sales potentially c25$+ above our current forecast 2021⁄22 levels. FIe think the return of 3D orders will boost
sales in 2020⁄21, and help mitigate any lingering cycle concerns (our industry research leads us to conclude that FFpE¢ could increase orders in 2020). The pushout of the ApEFFA order into 2020 skews growth rates, but once excluded we now forecast 2020 growing modestly at 5$, increasing rapidly to 21$ in 2021.
gIVEN aIXTRON’S MORE NASCENT BUSINESS PROFILE WE HAD HISTORICALLY RELIED ON p/bv AS OUR primary valuation multiple, with other profitability-based metrics (e.g. EFF⁄EBIT & pE) being less useful. FIe believe this has started to change, with 2021 profit multiples now looking more reasonable to us, as Aixtron returns to more meaningful profitability. Importantly we THINK THAT GIVEN aIXTRON’S GROWTH POTENTIAL, along with the high barriers to entry in the compound semis industry, it remains attractive on a valuation basis vs. semi cap peers (see figure 13⁄14). FIe acknowledge that it may take time and patience for these opportunities to come to fruition with some cycle drag in the near-term, but see this as an opportunity for investors to get in early at an attractive valuation. FIe now base our price target on a 19x 2021e ev/ebit, IMPLYING A €12 PRICE target, leading us to upgrade our rating to Overweight
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