Welcome to our conference call after the release of our interim statement for Q1 2026. For those of you who did not join the full- year call a short five and a half weeks ago, a quick disclaimer. This call is being recorded and considered copyrighted material. It cannot be recorded or rebroadcast without permission, and participating in this call implies your consent to this procedure. Please also be aware of the safe harbor statement on page two of the slide deck. It applies throughout the call. Now I'm handing over to Burkhardt to guide us through the presentations of the first quarter.
Florian, thanks a lot for the intro. Welcome, everyone, also from my side. Let's start with an overview of the key financials for 2026. Order intake of EUR 149.3 million marked a new record in the company's history, surpassing the previous record of EUR 147.5 million in Q4 2024. This performance is broadly distributed across customers and applications. We also see the bonder business return, along with renewed demand from China. This strong Q1 breaks the usual seasonal pattern. Typically, Q4 is the strongest quarter of the year, followed by a slower Q1 in terms of orders. Revenue of EUR 86.5 million is down significantly as expected. With product lead times of around six months, this reflects the lower order intake volumes of summer 2025.
Q1 was expected to be the low point of 2026, with gradual improvements towards the end of the year. Now on profitability. The gross margin of 36.1% is within our guidance corridor. The EBIT margin is lower due to reduced coverage of fixed cost, but we expect it to improve significantly going forward. Now we are on the page you are seeing, a few more words on the order intake. Q1 was the best quarter for the order intake in the company's history. Demand came from both segments and across our customer base. We are seeing strength from our AI-exposed customers, but orders are strong across all customer groups. From a geographic perspective, Europe and North America were strong, and demand from China is also returning. Regarding sales, we already stated on the full year call that Q1 will be weak.
From here, we expect sales to improve as we move through the year. On the order situation, on the full year call, we were cautious because Q1 could have reflected a pull-in from the second half of 2026. At this point, we continue to see very good order momentum in Q2 as well, and we are ramping up flexible manufacturing capacity again. Let's take a look at the performance of the two segments. First, to Advanced Backend Solutions. Order intake was significantly above the previous quarter and well above Q1 2025. The main drivers were strong order intake and bonders. Around 50% of the segment order intake was for bonding solutions. Imaging was also strong, driven by high order volumes for the UV projection scanners. Revenue was down significantly. The only product line that grew year- on- year was Imaging Solutions.
Bonding, which was down 65%, and coating, minus 8%, were weak. Each product line contributed roughly one-third of sales, another indicator of an unfavorable product mix. Profitability was significantly lower than in the prior year due to a weaker product and customer mix, with a high share of imaging and coating. Now let's move to Photomask Solutions. Order intake was approximately EUR 50 million. A solid improvement versus Q1 2025. Orders from China accounted for roughly one-third of the segment order intake, indicating that China business is returning, at least in Q1 2026.
As a result, we almost doubled the segment order book on the back of a strong first- quarter order intake. Revenue was lower in Q1, reflecting the lower order volume and reduced capacity. The EBIT margin was under pressure due to a lower fixed cost absorption by the decline in sales volume. Now I'd like to hand over to Cornelia for a deeper dive on our numbers.
Thank you, Burkhardt. Also, a warm welcome from my side to all of you. I will focus on a few key financial and operational messages for the first quarter. First, on demand and visibility. Our order book stood at EUR 330.1 million at the end of the first quarter. Within that, tool orders represent EUR 300 million, which shows the visibility improved in the first quarter. More importantly, we have a good line of sight on revenue conversion. We expect EUR 255 million of those tool orders to convert into sales during 2026. Roughly EUR 45 million is already scheduled beyond 2026, which means that the backlog for 2027 is starting to build up.
This also implies that additional orders are still expected to achieve our revenue target and to fill all production slots in 2026. As a consequence, no solid co-conclusion can be drawn at this stage regarding the product and customer mix for the full year. Sales revenue reflects the low order intake during the summer months in the last year, which Burkhardt already highlighted. Operating expenses. That means selling expenses, administration expenses, and R&D expenses increased overall slightly by EUR 0.9 million. The key driver within that mix was R&D expenses, which increased 12.5%. This is EUR 1.4 million quarter-on-quarter. In absolute terms, R&D expenses were EUR 12.2 million in the first quarter of 2026.
The other operating expense items were broadly stable. The increase is largely a deliberate investment choice, supporting our roadmap by keeping the overall cost base under control. EBIT was clearly below the prior year due to less volume and a different product and customer mix. On the balance sheet, cash and cash equivalents increased compared to year-end 2025 strongly to EUR 120.9 million. This improvement was primarily driven by lower working capital versus the end of the last fiscal year. Net cash is lower compared to the first quarter 2025. I want to be clear on the definition. Lease liabilities, including their non-current portion, is reflected in the net cash calculation. These liabilities increased in connection with the lease of the building in Zürich since the beginning of the second quarter last year, which automatically reduced the net cash position.
Free cash flow and CapEx. Finally, free cash flow increased to EUR 23.2 million in the first quarter, representing a strong improvement versus the first quarter 2025 and the fourth quarter 2025. CapEx was EUR 2.5 million, driven by some technical equipment in Germany, a tooling training tool for Taiwan and some minor items also in Taiwan. Let's move on the development of our main financial KPIs. Please be aware that the prior year figures have been restated due to changes in accounting policies applied in the fourth quarter 2025. Five weeks ago, we said we expected a continuation of the positive order momentum in Q1. Typically, the first quarter is seasonally weaker than the fourth quarter. This year we clearly outperformed the fourth quarter and broke the usual seasonal pattern.
There is a possibility that the second quarter could be also strong, perhaps even above the first quarter. This depends on customer timing and project progression. As planned, quarterly sales of EUR 86.5 million is expected to mark the low point of the year. In the following quarters, we expect rising sales levels. However, the extent of these increases will vary significantly from quarter to quarter, also in terms of its composition. Gross profit margin was in line with our guidance corridor for the full fiscal year 2026. EBIT, due to lower cost coverage, EBIT declined significantly. Looking ahead, we anticipate a higher EBIT margin as cost coverage improves. Overall, we assume from today's perspective that the product mix in 2026 will not significantly change. Based on that, we confirm our guidance of 8%-10% EBIT margin.
It is a reasonable expectation for the full year. Let me briefly walk through the two segments. Burkhardt already talked about this. The positive order momentum continued in both segments. In Advanced Backend Solutions, sales declined versus the first quarter 2025. 2025. This was primarily driven by lower sales in the bonding systems product line. That mix shift also matters for profitability. Bonding systems typically carry a more favorable profit margin profile, so lower bonding volumes have a double impact on both revenue and on margins. As a result, EBIT in the Advanced Backend Solutions segment turned slightly negative as a result. EUR 80 million of gross profit were not enough to cover EUR 20 million of operating expenses, roughly half of which are R&D expenses. Turning to Photomask Solutions. Order intake improved significantly, as we already discussed earlier.
Sales were below the first quarter of 2025, but at the prior quarter level. Please keep in mind that due to the high unit price and comparatively low equipment volume, timing shifts in the project can lead to a noticeable impact on short-term trends in sales and profitability. In terms of profitability, gross profit margin improved compared to the first quarter of 2025, but was likely below the prior quarter. With a total gross profit of EUR 13.3 million and OpEx of around EUR 6 million, we achieved EBIT of around EUR 7 million, and as a consequence, an EBIT margin of 23.1%. As already mentioned, and as you can see in the bars here, the first quarter of 2026 was truly outstanding for the time being. Let me add a few remarks on order intake dynamics and what we are seeing regionally. The book-to-bill.
Due to the excellent order intake in the first quarter, combined with lower sales volume in the first quarter, we achieved a book-to-bill ratio of 1.73 in the first quarter. From our perspective, that's a clear indicator of strong momentum and supports the visibility we can go into the next quarters. Regionally, Asia Pacific once again accounted for the largest share of the new orders, but the relative distribution shifted in favor of EMEA and North America. To put numbers to that. For the full year 2025, APAC represented around 77% of order intake, with Taiwan as a dominant contributor. In the first quarter, APAC was 65%. The reduction in APAC shares is not a sign of weakness in the region; APAC remains the largest contributor, but rather reflects stronger relative contributions from EMEA and North America in the quarter.
Compared to the co- distribution of the full year, EMEA share increased by 3.1 percentage points. The Americas increased by 9.3 percentage points. Overall, we are seeing a small shift in the regional order pattern versus last year, while still seeing strong demand in APAC. Now I would like to present the main balance sheet developments. Total assets increased by 17.3 million versus year-end 2025 to EUR 224.7 million. Non-current assets decreased by around EUR 2 million because depreciation exceeded investments by 1.5 million, and here we see the depreciation of the right-of-use asset related to the SÜSS site. Current assets increased by EUR 19.2 million. Without cash and cash equivalents, current assets declined by 2.9 million.
On the one hand, we had an inventory build-up of EUR 14 million, which is primarily linked to the number of tools we are currently building, so it is work in progress, which is here the driving factor. Trade receivables declined by EUR 16 million, as well as contract assets by EUR 6.3 million. Cash and cash equivalents increased by EUR 20.2 million due to the positive free cash flow. On the equity side, we have an increase in equity, and the equity ratio ends up at 60.7%. It's a slight decrease compared to end of last fiscal year due to the increased total assets. The non-current liabilities were broadly stable at a reduction of EUR 1.8 million, mainly related to leasing obligations and bank liabilities.
Current liabilities increased by EUR 15.9 million, mainly driven by higher trade payables and higher contract liabilities. The trade payables increased by EUR 5.4 million to EUR 30.6 million, and contract liabilities increased by EUR 12.6 million- EUR 57.7 million. The latter was primarily driven by advanced payments from Chinese customers. With that, now I hand back to Burkhardt.
Thank you, Cornelia. As said before, Q1 marks a low point in sales. We expect sequential improvement in the coming quarters for the remainder of the year. Higher sales will also translate to increasing profitability going forward. The order book has improved; it's not yet at the level of last year, which at the end of Q1 was EUR 392.7 million. Still lower visibility on the final product mix for the year. Of the current order book, EUR 255 million of tool orders are for 2026. The rest are already tool orders for 2027. Upgrades and services are roughly EUR 27 million at the end of Q1 2026. Visibility for 2026 has improved in Q1. Our clear expectation is that Q2 will also see a very positive order momentum, potentially exceeding Q1 order intake levels. As we said before, 2026 will be a transition year.
Q1 marks the low point. From there on, we will return on our growth path. We confirm the existing guidance today, with a sales range of EUR 425 million-EUR 485 million. We see a broadly stable gross margin of 35%-37%, but a declining EBIT margin in the range of 8%-10%. Some of you are already calculating whether or not the midpoint in terms of sales seems defensive. That's understandable. Things are looking good at the moment, but this is the view only after the very first quarter, and it has been only five weeks since our initial guidance.
Once we see a more sustained order momentum, we can better gauge the second half of the year and beyond. Until then, we expect 2026 is developing according to the projection we used to model our 2026 guidance. With that, thank you very much for your attention. We are looking forward to your question. Operator, please open the floor for the discussion.
Thank you very much. Ladies and gentlemen, now it's your turn. We're opening the Q&A session, and if you'd like to ask your questions in person via audio line, please click on the raise hand button below. If you're dialing in by phone, please press star key nine to raise your hand and star key six to unmute yourself. Additionally, you're also welcome to post your questions in our chat, and we will read them out loud for you. By that said, we have already received raised hands, for example, by Mr. Janardan Menon. You may speak now.
Hi. Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my question. I noticed that you're saying that you got bonder orders from HBM customers in the plural. Does that mean that your second customer who you had indicated had not really started ordering in the fourth quarter, has also now started to order equipment? Or is this from the, you know, new qualification that you got at a third customer recently?
Janardan, that's a good question. It's the latter. The second large customer hasn't placed significant repeat orders yet.
Understood. You're getting photo mask orders from China. Is this for the new photo mask machine, the mid-range one that you are introducing or is this still for your older model?
It's a mix of both. I mean, the high-end version, the MaskTrack Smart , is not yet launched in China. But we see orders for our existing portfolio, which is the MaskTrack Pro and also the, yeah, initial orders for our mid-end cleaning system, which we are also introducing this year.
Okay. You are already taking orders for the equipment, that you are, you know, still in the process of introducing, as in even if the, you know, e ven for your next generation UV scanner, et cetera, are orders already being taken, or do you have to first launch the system before that?
Yeah, these are different cases because for the mid-end cleaner, there are multiple customers. You know, for the next generation UV scanner, which will be, you know, a panel version scanner. This is launched for our prime partner, who is developing CoWoS solutions.
Understood. Last question is just, when we look at the continuing order strength into Q2, is that coming from the same customer trends that you saw in Q1, or is there, you know, any change in that pattern?
It's a mixed bag. No, it's, of course, often we get reduced to AI. I think I said it multiple times. We see other customers now also ordering also for other applications. Also we see a bit the order pattern changing, that they place larger orders also for deliveries well into 2027. Although usually early times for the back end are much shorter now. We see kind of more momentum ordering big blocks of equipment for multiple quarters.
Understood. Thank you so much.
Thank you very much for your questions. We have another question by Mr. Ruben Devos. You may unmute yourself now. Can you hear me, Mr. Devos? I just sent you an invite to unmute yourself.
Okay. Do you hear me now?
Yes, perfectly. Thank you. Hello.
Okay, great. Thank you. All right. Good afternoon. I just had a question, simply on guidance, right? I mean, orders of EUR 149 million, I think. Last quarter, you talked about orders being higher than what Q4 was, basically above EUR 118. Obviously, if you annualize, you come in well ahead of where your revenue guidance is for the year. Basically, what would need to happen in Q2, let's say, for you to start feeling that the current sales range is too conservative? That's maybe the first question.
That's hard to say because, as said before, just from the previous questions, we see a different composition of the orders. They are more long-term orders we receive, which stretch well into 2027. Therefore, we still need orders to score now to meet our guidance for the remainder of the year. I think Cornelia explained a bit about the mix of orders materializing this year in sales and revenue, and orders which are already booked for 2027. That portion which we see now coming in for 2027 is larger than in previous years. In a way, it's good news because it's longer- term visibility, which we didn't experience, especially in the second half of last year. That doesn't mean that, you know, our guidance is in that sense secured by the existing order book. We still need to collect orders to make our guidance.
Okay. Okay, very clear.
This year's guidance.
Okay. Regarding the photomask, the order intake of EUR 50 million, I think you talked about the second-highest quarterly level in history. Could you decompose that a bit? Like, how much of that came from China resuming order intake versus maybe international customers pulling in? Is there maybe some restocking from China after several weak quarters, or is there really a genuine new fab demand that you're seeing across the international base?
Well, yeah, it's two-folded.
Yeah. Yeah.
It's, you cannot really drill it down to one factor. I think we said, we do see kind of renewed momentum coming out of China, which was seen as being saturated in a way or another . We saw that clearly in the declining order intake in the last quarters of last year, especially Q2 through Q3, where we saw big drops in photo mask intake. Now we see a kind of a slight reversal, but we have to see if this is sustainable or not.
As you see with Western customers, you know, investments, you know, for equipment, for wafer fab equipment is increasing significantly also on the front and litho side, and that also pulls requirements for photomask cleaning equipment with it. We see existing Western customers also ordering more than we initially had forecasted to push and to balance the equipment demand. It's a mixed bag.
Okay. Okay, just a final question, I think, regarding these four new product launches, right? Basically, I mean, I have my suspicions, but I would say, right, which of these would have the greatest potential to affect your next year's sales? Apart from that, if you look across these four, where do you see most execution risk, rather than the revenue potential?
That's, that's also not a, not an easy question. I mean, they all are, of course, linked to our strategic revenue stream, which starts from next year onwards. Again, it's these are not products that only last for a year or two. You know, these are really either brand-new products like GreenTech or the mid-end cleaner. This is two out of those four . The MaskTrack Smart Cleaner and also the DSC 310, the panel version of our next generation UV scanner, are kind of evolved new applications addressing customer needs in the future.
You could always say that, well, a, you know, extended product, which is just an evolution of existing products, bears a lower risk. That would be too simple because, I mean, all these projects are running on tight timelines and they are pretty much on track, but it's tight. With a brand-new application, we are entering Green Tech, where, of course there we have to prove that, you know, we have something which is by far better than competitors.
That proof point is only after the evaluation results of the launching customer, which starts in the second half of this year. I think all these products have revenue potential for next year. The panel version, of course, that's for pilot line. As most of you know, panel-level production is seen to ramp only towards the end of the decade, starting from 2028 onwards. Our DSC panel version, I don't expect significant revenues before 2028.
All right. Thank you very much.
Thank you very much for your question. We have another raise in hand by Mr. Martin Marandon-Carlhian. You may unmute yourself now. I just sent you an invite. Can you hear us?
Yes. Can you hear me?
Perfect. Yes. Hello.
Great. Thank you for taking my question. My first one is on the temporary bonding business and the new customer that you announced last quarter. I guess my question is, you know, how big do you think the opportunity can be? Do you think that this customer can be as big in terms of revenues than the other two because he has, like, 50% or more of the addressable market, even if it's just, you're just a second source there? I have a follow-up.
Yeah, Martin, that's of course. You know, if I had a crystal ball, I could answer this better. The first orders we received there, you know, are for single tools which go to R&D and which then, of course, have to perform against the installed base. Once you see results, then you can better predict, you know, how good your chances are. Cause there we are clearly a second source. On the other hand, based on installed customers, we were, you know, part of the launching party, which gives you a stronger foothold there. It's too early to tell. It highly depends on the performance those machines make. We're quite happy that we have a foot in the door. It's way too early to gauge what ultimate potential can come out of this.
Okay. Understand. My follow-up is on the gross margin expectation in 2027. I know it's already too early to say, but just linked to the new product launch, you know, how big do you think the ramp can be in terms of gross margin in 2027? Because I guess there is kind of a learning curve also in assembly for some new equipment. Do you see, compared to the trajectory you showed at the last Capital Market Day, do you see a bigger step up in 2027 versus 2026, or maybe in 2028 versus 2027?
We don't guide multiple years, as you know. I think, I mean, we have to see. 2027 will be, the bulk of the course will be, depending on the existing portfolio, and only, you know, a small portion will be affected or influenced by new launching products. Having said that, as you always know, the mix of the portfolio has a major role to play here. If we can increase the amount of bonding equipment, you know, then, you know, we see a much faster swing of the margin than to wait for the effect of the new launching products. Which I think in bulk you will only see from 2028 onwards. Maybe Cornelia has additional comments to make.
I would say it's hard to say at this time what we will achieve in 2027. As you said, it depends on the mix and also on the share of our new products. In the beginning, I expect it not to be such a big share because it will ramp up in a normal pattern. That's all I can say for the moment. As we said, we have around EUR 45 million order intake that will turn into sales, or we expect that this turns into sales revenue in 2026, but only EUR 45 million right now. We have to wait and see how the mix will turn out in the orders we get in the upcoming month.
Yeah. Understood. Thank you.
Thank you very much. We have another question from Malte Schaumann. You may unmute yourself now.
Yes. Good afternoon. First one is on the third HBM player, which suffered a bit from underutilization over the past-
We cannot hear you anymore. I have sent you another invite to unmute yourself.
Okay. Can you hear me now?
Yeah. Now it's perfect again. Thank you.
I'm sorry. I was touching upon the third HBM player, who was suffering a bit from underutilization during the past couple of quarters. What's your take on the opportunity here, and especially in the second half of this year? Do you see that customer returning with orders, or has that perception changed?
You know, Malte, there's still our working assumption. Of course, we are working closely with them. We see utilization is increasing. We are working with them closely, also to be there when they are placing additional orders. Of course, we want them to place them with us. As you know, it's also a very competitive market, so we have to see what share we get because they have mixed their suppliers. We need to see how we can score there. We've been so far a bit cautious there to make a big forecast because currently we don't see a lot of activity in terms of orders from that side.
Okay. That is rather because competition might be stronger than expected or because the customer delays order placement at suppliers due to still existing underutilization?
That's a good question, but I don't have an answer for that. It's we have competitive activities for all customers, you know, except some of our photo mask customers. Here, it's too early to say. You know, there are also, you know, quite some challenges, you know, we have to overcome, you know, for next generation memories. We have a long list of items we are working on. We do this closely with that customer. At the end of the course, when we resolve all these issues, you know, I'm confident that we are considered for follow-up orders, but it's too early to say.
Okay. Understood. On the capacity extensions or temporary capacity extensions you alluded to, can you elaborate a bit on where these will take place? For which product areas are these planned, and what's the timeframe for these?
Yeah, that's a question of course for, you know, for Thomas.
Yeah
Who I think will be better for them.
Yeah, sure. Thank you for the question, Malte. Capacity is already really in progress that we ramp up in Taiwan, also partially in Sternenfels, because mainly affected product lines are bonders for sure, and but also scanners. This is in progress. We are making progress. We are still hiring and still ramping up the capacity, but we are on a very good track there.
Okay. That sounds like this is a short-term thing that capacities will in place in a few weeks or so.
Yeah, sure. It's short-term because what needs short-term, we know about the order intake from Q4. We prepared for this, and we are hiring people and really also really ramping up our supply chain again, which we ramped down due to the low order intake in Q2, Q3 last year. This ramped up right now. We are on a pretty good track there, as I mentioned, and we are very confident that we are fulfilling all the orders which we get for this year, that we can fulfill them this year.
Okay. Okay.
I think just to add one thing, Malte, and Thomas, if I may. You know, I think we reported last year that we reduced our, you know, large portions of our flexible manufacturing capability, which is our fast way of adjusting to changing environments. Of course, we have to fill up those flexibility again with flex labor components. That's the first thing we always do. When we see it's more structural and sustainable, then of course we also have to increase, you know, the permanent workforce. Right now, we are beefing up the flex labor resources, which I think makes best sense.
Okay. In terms of individual product areas, are there already areas where you are fully booked and new orders automatically slip into 2027, or how does it look for spare capacities?
To make it very short, no. If you order a tool, we will manage to sell it and to produce it this year, and we can really accept more orders this year, so there's no limitation foreseeable right now.
Okay. Good. Another question for the new core, new product, new types of product, or next- generation systems. Are you able to maybe share a number? I mean, the big ramp will probably follow past 2027, but what the opportunity might be for next year and all these product launches, and you get first orders, what the revenue contribution from these areas might look like?
Yeah, it's, yeah, Malte, as I said, we don't give those indications on a product- specific level. I think we have already, you know, a high single-digit number of mid-end cleaner orders, which are out for delivery starting this year and spanning into next year. That is probably in terms of volume, the fastest movers. The GreenTech is, of course, a new application launch, you know, where we will place, you know, the first one product with the customer. We expect to get some orders, probably, yeah, towards the late end of the second half of this year, which will result in sales in 2027.
You know, for the MaskTrack Smart, we already have an order, you know, for the first volume system, which goes to a lead customer, a Western customer, for evaluation purposes towards the end of the year. We already have a number, so it's a number of POs. To summarize this in a EUR number, I don't have that data now here, and usually we don't disclose it this early.
Okay. Great. Thanks.
Thank you very much. We have three raised hands left, one from Johannes Ries. You may unmute yourself now.
Yes. Good afternoon. Can you hear me?
Yes, perfectly. Thank you. Hello.
Okay. Hello. Maybe also some short follow-up questions from my side. First, on the flexible capacity, what impact has the flexible capacity have on margin? Is the margin impact maybe a little bit lower than if you have permanent stuff, if you see its ongoing development or it's neutral?
Well, Johannes, Thomas speaking. The effect is almost neutral because, for sure, we have training efforts, because we have to train them in the beginning, but we also really manage to keep this time very short, so that the effect on training efforts is pretty small. We expect no real significant impact on the margin. The effect is more of the challenge is more to get the right people on the board, hire them, train them, and get them into production. We learned over the last years a lot about this, and I think we are pretty good in this meanwhile. From that point of view, no big effect is to be expected.
Super. Thanks. Maybe also on the activities, also for future activities which we don't mention because maybe they are more in the future. Any update on potential changes in the prospects of things like inkjet or imprint or the hybrid bonding, even wafer-to-wafer, anything new in the last few months that happened, and maybe also change the opportunities you see in these other activities?
Yeah. That's a very wide question, Johannes.
Yeah, yeah. All that was not mentioned, sorry.
You know, obviously, all these things you just mentioned are activities we are pursuing. You know, what we see sometimes is that the weight is shifting. You mentioned hybrid bonding. You know, we see more emphasis now on wafer-to-wafer hybrid bonding than on die-to-wafer hybrid bonding. For example. In the sense that we have solutions kind of ready for, you know, for all these technologies, I think we are in a good base position.
We have to see that we can also adapt to those shifts, because the shifts often come along with technical requirements, whether it's overlay accuracy or, you know, very specific, you know, like fingerprint, wafer fingerprint, issues on wafer-to-wafer bonding, and we need to deal with that. Your question was are there any changes? There are constant changes. The point is, how do we deal with them? How can we react and respond? This keeps our technology guys active and our application guys.
Okay. Maybe in the whole environment, more and more front-end and suppliers are realizing that moving in the direction apply to things long term, but also there are rumors that ASML is also more looking at the advanced packaging side. How do you see this development? Is it positive or is it a threat that maybe big guys are getting stronger and stronger, and maybe increasing the pressure on the traditional suppliers?
Well, yeah, Johannes, I think you know me. I'm not scared of the big guys. I know a little bit how they tick. I think I see it rather as a positive development because these previously separated front and back end markets are moving closer together, and I think the parties who manage to deal with this changing situation best are the ones who are coming out as a winners, no matter the size. You know, now trying to raise walls and build fences will not help back- end players in this respect. I think it's about how you deal with the situation. Maybe there are ways of collaboration you can explore, and I think the next few years will be quite exciting.
Okay. Everybody talks with everybody, huh? On other products, I heard that you also maybe offer now a separate cleaner for hybrid bonding, huh? Because that's one strength of SÜSS, that you are very strong because of the photomask cleaning in this area. Is the product already available? If yes, what is the feedback of customers on this?
Now here, I'm not sure what you're referring to, Johannes. A special cleaner for hybrid bonding?
Yeah, that your cleaning solution, I heard, maybe it's wrong information I got. You have a standalone cleaner offering also for dedicated hybrid bonding solutions.
You know more than I do.
Okay.
But, uh-
Maybe the wrong information. Forget it. Okay. Sorry about that. Finally, on the OSAT, as you mentioned, it's a wide range of customers and different sources are even for other applications. Are the OSAT also one of the drivers of the activities in Q1 and especially in Q2?
Exactly. This is also what I meant, that it's not only AI- driven, although of course, you know, AI has a big role there to play. We see OSAT orders and especially OSAT orders in context with our coaters stepping up significantly. That's a good sign because that gives a more balanced load. Then it reduces the dependency on HBM only.
Okay. Finally, how much maybe you have, looking at your pipeline in your CRM systems, you have also first indications maybe how the strength of orders could go on maybe in the second half, maybe you can say the pipeline is still strong or even growing, any of these indications are available, or you can talk about?
Well, of course, there are certain things available, but we cannot disclose, you know, all the details, as you well know. I think we mentioned earlier the order pattern changes, and that is, in that sense, significant because this is very different compared to last year. We see larger orders coming in, almost frame orders, which go over periods of 12-18 months, with big sets, and they come in early, much earlier than they usually would have come, looking at our standard lead times, which have improved significantly. Maybe this is driven by, you know, concerns that there will be shortages in capacity. There's quite a run on equipment as we speak.
Customers really start claiming their slot in the supply chain, or they just want to get the best package deal for a large number order. You know, we see currently a lot of activity concentrating on the first half of this year. Of course, we have to see, does this mean that the second half of the year there's a deflated order momentum because a lot of things were pulled in, or does it continue, you know, at a reasonable strong level? That's too early to see. We see now an unusual strong pull for orders as already said against the seasonal distribution in Q1.
We see this extending into Q2, where we also said that we can even beat the record order intake of Q1. We have to see, is that a pull-in effect or is it a really a sustainable increase in demand across the entire ecosystem? Until we have a better gauge on that one, we are sticking to our guidance because the second half of the year can look differently.
It's clear. Fair answer. Thanks a lot.
Thank you so much, also from my side. We have two remaining questions, one from Abajarat. I just sent you an invite to unmute yourself.
Hi, good afternoon. You have already touched on my question; maybe you can give me more color. There is currently a l ot of tightness across wafer fab capacity and HBM, obviously, at the same time, lead time is lengthening across the semi value chain. I just wonder if you are seeing any bottlenecks, maybe in your own supply chain or maybe also at customer sites, that could slow down your backlog conversion and impact your performance in the near future , positively or negatively. Thank you.
Not yet. But I will also ask Thomas in a moment. The issue is we really had to tone down our material intake in the last quarters and, which is reflected also in the lower sales levels. That actually was a problem for us because we ramped up a quite strong supply chain. Now, of course, with the increased order momentum, this is actually really good news because we can get back to the volumes we have secured previously and can have access to good prices. Otherwise, those suppliers would have adjusted their pricing due to lower volumes.
Luckily, we prepared the supply chain in the past t wo years. Now, you know, we press start again, and we can execute faster. We currently don't see issues, supply chain issues, but of course, you know, the geopolitical context we haven't talked about is still pretty critical. We have to observe this carefully. Maybe Thomas has a view on if he sees any shortages on the supply side of the supply chain management.
No. Actually, we do not see any shortages, as you correctly mentioned. The only thing that we see, and perhaps this is also really answering partially your question is for sure some price increases which we see due to the geopolitical effects on, for example, aluminum prices increase, and energy prices do increase. So also partially also, the prices for our supplied or bought materials increased slightly. We try to avoid it, and we try to negotiate it away. For sure, there is some pressure on the price side. Not so much on the supply side in general, but really on the price side. Up to now, we have managed it pretty well. From that point of view, I do not see a really big risk in our supply chain.
Perfect. Thank you so much.
Thank you also from my side. We do have one last question from Lukas Spang. You may unmute yourself now.
Yes. Hi, good afternoon, all together. I would like to come back to your statement regarding Q2 order intake and that it is also or even possible that Q2 order intake could exceed Q1 levels. April and the first days of May must have been very good if you make statements like this. Just to get a feeling or a better feeling of the current momentum, can you give any indications of how order intake in April has been? The second question is regarding America. It's still lower numbers, but with a very strong relative change in Q1 on the order intake side. Is this just related to one or two customers, or is it a broader base? To which product categories is this related to? Thanks.
Yeah, let me, Lukas, let me answer your second question first. I think we also said early on the call that we see a higher portion of European and U.S. activities. That's across multiple customers we have there. But also, we get larger orders out of those regions, which we haven't seen at that scale before. That is a clear indicator. It's, of course, good news because it's a more balanced geographical distribution. Now we don't give you any specifics on the order intake in the first five weeks. They are that good that we are bold enough to claim that Q2 will exceed the record Q1 in terms of order and entry volumes. We are very confident about that.
On a monthly basis, even probably an acceleration in order intake momentum?
You know, I don't know if you say, acceleration, but we got some significant-
Yes
Large orders, which of course make a big impact. Of course, you know, it's five weeks out of 12 weeks. Yeah. We have to celebrate at the end of the quarter. You know, right now, the forecast for the second quarter is quite strong.
Yeah. Okay. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Mr. Spang. Well, there are no raised hands left , and no, as I can see, no questions in our chat either. I would say thank you. With no further questions, we will come to the end of today's earnings call. Thank you very much for your interest in SÜSS MicroTec SE. If any further questions arise at a later time, feel free to contact Investor Relations. I wish you all a successful day, and I'm handing over to Mr. Mangold for closing remarks.
As said, we are always happy to answer your questions and any follow-ups. Also, we're looking forward to welcoming many of you at our annual general meeting, which is due on June 3rd here in Munich. Like we already said, have a great day. Have a good rest of the day and speak to you soon. Bye