Sales Down from Previous Year

Lagging silicon-wafer demand and lower prices resulted in a sales decline at Siltronic. Its sales decreased 14.4 percent to € 743.0 million (2012: € 867.9 million). While 300 mm wafer business grew slightly during full-year 2013, 200 mm-wafer volumes remained at the prior-year level and the small-diameter wafer segment saw a further slowdown. On the regional front, sales declined year on year in each region. Asia remains the strongest market, although even there sales decreased by more than 10 percent.

EBITDA improved compared with the previous year, climbing to € 26.5 million (2012: € 0.7 million). EBIT did not improve because we recognized an impairment of € 34.8 million for shuttered production facilities in Q4 2013. The rise reflects the effectiveness of Siltronic’s measures to reduce production costs and increase plant utilization. Negative price effects weighed on EBITDA performance. The EBITDA margin was 3.6 percent (2012: 0.1 percent).

Lower Investment Level

Investments at Siltronic decreased in 2013. They came in at € 30.9 million (2012: € 103.2 million), 70 percent down on one year earlier. The funds chiefly flowed into enhanced technologies.

Siltronic’s workforce shrank substantially due to structural measures. As of December 31, 2013, the division had 3,746 employees (Dec. 31, 2012: 3,978).

Key Data: SILTRONIC