Recently, MOCVD equipment manufacturer AIXTRON announced its first-half 2025 results, showing steady growth overall in the first half of the year, thanks to strong demand for optoelectronic products related to AI data centers.
Image source: AIXTRON
First-half revenue was flat year-on-year, with LED equipment revenue of approximately RMB 263 million . In the first half of the year, Aixtron achieved revenue of approximately €250 million (approximately RMB 2.079 billion), flat year-on-year; EBIT was €26.9 million (approximately RMB 224 million), up 18% year-on-year; and free cash flow turned significantly positive to €71.1 million.
In the second quarter, the company achieved revenue of €137 million, a slight increase of 4% year-on-year and 22% quarter-on-quarter; EBIT was €23.6 million, an increase of 83% year-on-year; and free cash flow was €41.3 million, compared to -€23.4 million in the same period last year.
Aixtron's revenue primarily comes from two segments: equipment and services and parts. Equipment revenue reached €198 million in the first half of the year. By product application, power electronics (GaN/SiC) equipment accounted for 71% of revenue, LED equipment (including Micro LED equipment) accounted for 16% (approximately RMB 263 million), and optoelectronic equipment (especially lasers for optical data transmission and 3D sensing technology) accounted for 9%.
By regional market, revenue from Asia, Europe, and the Americas accounted for 64%, 16%, and 20%, respectively. Specifically, revenue from Asia saw a slight year-on-year decrease, revenue from Europe decreased by 40%, while revenue from the Americas saw a significant increase of 133%.
In terms of orders, Aixtron's new orders totaled approximately €250 million in the first half of the year, a 15% decrease year-on-year; equipment order backlog decreased to €285 million due to delayed investments by power device customers in Europe and the United States. New orders in the second quarter totaled €119 million, a 33% decrease year-on-year.
In terms of profitability, gross profit for the first half of the year was €89.9 million, with a gross margin of 36%. Excluding one-off layoff expenses, the gross margin was 38%. EBIT was €26.9 million, and net profit was €24.3 million.
In addition, due to lower outsourcing costs and consumable expenses, R&D investment in the first half of the year was 36 million euros, a year-on-year decrease of 24%, accounting for 14% of total revenue.
Demand for optoelectronic devices continues to rise, with optimistic full-year performance expectations . Aixtron stated that despite a relatively weak overall market environment, it still achieved strong performance in the first half of this year. Notably, driven by increased demand for data communication and telecom lasers, the company's optoelectronic segment saw continued growth in demand, contributing to steady overall performance growth.
Specifically, the G10 series equipment is currently a key engine for Aixtron's revenue growth. Among them, the G10-AsP equipment is mainly aimed at Micro LED and laser applications and has already occupied an important position in the laser market.
It's worth noting that, driven by demand related to AI data centers, Aixtron's optoelectronics business has shown strong growth momentum. Since the beginning of this year, it has consistently received orders for G10-AsP equipment from buyers such as Nokia and SMART Photonics. Furthermore, last month, the University of Cambridge purchased a Close Coupled Showerhead® system for 2D materials, primarily serving research and development in photonics and optoelectronics. This system enables wafer-level growth of layered materials (2D materials), allowing for integration with silicon photonics technology to manufacture high-efficiency, high-speed optical data communication devices.
Regarding LED equipment, Aixtron admitted in its first-quarter report that it expected its full-year LED equipment revenue to decline year-on-year, but it also revealed that Micro LED equipment is expected to increase the company's LED-related equipment order volume in 2026-2027.
Looking at the Micro LED equipment industry, many Micro LED-related equipment manufacturers have announced product deliveries and order receipts this year. For example, Finnish ALD equipment supplier Beneq announced additional orders for its Micro LED atomic layer deposition equipment from a leading customer; Maiwei completed another Micro LED equipment delivery in June (a self-developed MIP transfer section complete solution); Xinyi Huazhi's first Micro LED laser mass transfer equipment officially rolled off the production line and was delivered to a customer; and Yibei Technology's independently developed substrate/epitaxy defect detection equipment, α-INSPEC U1000, was delivered to a leading customer in the optoelectronic industry…
According to the "2025 Micro LED Display and Non-Display Application Market Analysis Report," the output value of Micro LED display application chips is projected to reach US$740 million by 2029, with a compound annual growth rate of 93% from 2024 to 2029. The activities of equipment manufacturers in the industry further reflect the promising outlook for the Micro LED market, and related manufacturers are expected to accelerate the conversion of their investments into revenue.
Looking ahead to the full year, Aixtron reiterated its 2025 full-year revenue target of €530-600 million, with a gross margin of 41-42% and an EBIT margin of 18%-22%. Third-quarter revenue is estimated at €110-140 million.
