OSRAM Licht AG

Revenue in Q3 was EUR 853 million, above the midpoint of guidance, and down 3% year-over-year due entirely to a weaker U.S. dollar. On a like-for-like constant-currency basis, core portfolio revenue grew about 6% year-over-year, including about 9% growth in the semiconductor core business. Adjusted EBITDA margin was 19.5%, almost 1 percentage point better than both the prior quarter and last year, and adjusted EBITDA increased by EUR 21 million. Adjusted net result was EUR 27 million; IFRS net result was minus EUR 28 million and IFRS EPS was negative EUR 0.28. For Q4, management guided to revenue of EUR 790 million to EUR 890 million at an exchange rate of 1.16, adjusted EBITDA margin of 17.5% plus or minus 1.5 percentage points, and free cash flow of more than EUR 100 million. Management also said full-year CapEx will be between 6% and 7% of revenue.

Aldo Kamper described the quarter as good and said the strategic focus is paying off, highlighting strong cash flow, core portfolio growth, and better profitability. He emphasized that the company is seeing continued momentum in design wins, with EUR 4 billion already secured in the first nine months of the year toward the EUR 5 billion full-year target, and said the deleveraging plan is on track. His tone was confident but pragmatic, noting FX pressure, pricing pressure, and short-term demand hiccups in some markets.

Rainer Irle focused on liquidity, cash generation, and balance sheet flexibility. He said cash on hand was EUR 979 million at end-September and above EUR 1 billion at end-October, net debt was almost unchanged at EUR 2 billion, and available liquidity increased to about EUR 1.6 billion. He also noted operating cash flow of EUR 88 million, CapEx of EUR 48 million, and positive free cash flow of EUR 43 million, bringing year-to-date free cash flow to breakeven. On profitability, he said adjusted EBITDA included a bit more than EUR 10 million from asset-sale gains, while IFRS results were pressured by about EUR 50 million to EUR 60 million of quarterly adjustments.

Analysts pressed on auto demand, the impact of Nexperia-related supply chain issues, and whether management would accelerate cost cuts. Aldo Kamper said automotive inventory levels are okay, but short-term ordering behavior has increased and he expects this quarter and next to be affected somewhat; he also said global vehicle build volumes are holding up and China is relatively strong. On cost savings, he said the EUR 225 million target looks achievable significantly ahead of plan, but management is currently focused on implementing the measures already defined rather than launching a bigger new cut program immediately. On consumer sockets, he said the company is making good progress with new sockets across Android and non-Android customers, and on disposals he reaffirmed that proceeds will be significantly above EUR 500 million.