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Media Release Haag , Switzerland , July 15 , 2021 " Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art . 53 LR " VAT CONTINUES STRONG GROWTH ; HALF - YEAR 2021 NET SALES , EBITDA , EBITDA MARGIN AND FREE CASH FLOW REACH RECORD LEVELS Based on preliminary and unaudited figures , VAT's second - quarter and half - year 2021 results will be substantially above the previous year's periods . They will also exceed the latest sales guidance provided in April 2021 , confirming the positive outlook given earlier in the year . This higher performance is the result of continued high demand in the first six months and VAT's strong business execution across its markets . Investments in the semiconductor industry reached record levels as chip shortage required investments in additional capacity in both leading and legacy platforms . This in turn also benefitted VAT's Global Services business which , like the Semiconductor business unit , posted record sales . In addition , the Advanced Industrials business unit fully captured the recovering market environment , supported by the recent strategic initiatives in a number of key areas . The Display business unit showed the expected weaker performance versus the prior year period , although to a smaller extent than originally expected . Q2 2021 results VAT recorded preliminary Q2 orders of around CHF 253 million , up 43 % compared with the same period a year earlier and 5 % higher than the first quarter of 2021. This is ahead of the company's previously communicated expectations of potentially lower quarter - on - quarter orders in Q2 . Net sales came in above the guidance of CHF 205 to 215 million and amounted to approximately CHF 224 million , an increase of 29 % year - on - year and 17 % quarter - on - quarter . This yields a preliminary Q2 book - to - bill ratio of 1.13x . At the end of June , the order book amounted to approximately CHF 218 million , some 13 % higher than at the end of the first quarter of 2021 . in CHF million Half - year 2021 results For the first half - year 2021 , preliminary orders amounted to approximately CHF 494 million , up 38 % compared to a year earlier while net sales increased by 30 % to CHF 416 million . Preliminary figures indicate that VAT achieved a half - year EBITDA margin in excess of 33.5 % , an increase of more than 3.8 percentage points over the first half - year level of 2020. This strong performance is based on the higher sales volume and the associated better operational leverage as well as VAT's ongoing strong operational improvements . Despite higher working capital to support the continued growth in 2021 , preliminary free cash flow reached a first six - month record level substantially above the previous year . The strong order activity in the first six months indicates a continued healthy business environment for the rest of 2021. Despite the high capacity utilization across the entire supply chain as well as the still lingering COVID pandemic , VAT expects an increase in sales in H2 2021 versus H1 and will give a more detailed update on its expectations for 2021 when it releases its final half - year 2021 results on August 5 , 2021 . VAT GROUP ( ALL NUMBERS PRELIMINARY AND UNAUDITED ) Order intake Q2 2021 Q1 2021 CHANGE² Q2 2020 253 241 Net sales 224 192 Order backlog 218 193 1 At constant foreign exchange rates ; 2 Quarter - on - Quarter ; ³ Year - on - Year + 5 % + 17 % + 13 % 1 177 173 154 VAT CHANGE 3 + 43 % + 29 % + 42 % HY 2021 494 416 HY 2020 358 319 CHANGE3 + 38 % + 30 %