Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, and a very warm welcome to the Annual General Meeting of Sartorius AG. My name is Lothar Kappich. As the Chairman of the Supervisory Board, I hereby open this year's Annual General Meeting of our company. On behalf of the Supervisory Board and the Executive Board, I would like to extend a particularly warm welcome to shareholders and their representatives. I'd also like to welcome the representatives of the media. Your reporting on Sartorius has helped us ensure that our shareholders have been able to keep up to date with the company throughout the year. Thank you very much for your work. Based on the positive experiences gained with this virtual format of the Annual General Meeting in recent years, Sartorius has once again opted for this format. In particular, this allows us to better reach out to our international shareholders. As in previous years, we are providing a stream in English as well in German. I am currently at Sartorius at Annastraße 29, 37075 Göttingen, which is the venue for the AGM within the meaning of the German Stock Corporation Act. I would like to welcome the members of our Supervisory Board who are all present here today. The same applies to the Executive Board. I am therefore pleased to welcome Dr Michael Grosse as the chairman, as well as Dr. Alexandra Gatzemeyer, Dr. René Fáber and Dr. Florian Funck. I would also like to welcome Dr Matthias Reichert, notary public based in Göttingen, who is keeping the minutes of today's meeting. In addition, the company's proxies are also present at the AGM. Ladies and gentlemen, I shall now turn to a number of personnel changes that took place during the reporting year. As already announced at the last AGM, Dr Michael Grosse took over the role of Chief Executive Officer on the 1st of July 2025, so that was nine months ago. The Supervisory Board has succeeded in finding an experienced successor for our long-standing Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Kreuzburg. Mr Grosse has impressively demonstrated his capabilities across a range of industries and business models. Mr Grosse, Dr Grosse will welcome you personally in a moment. There have also been changes to the Supervisory Board. I had already mentioned a change last year. Mr Manfred Sawko[Safsko] from IG Metall, who was my deputy as the chairman of this body, stepped down from the Supervisory Board at the end of March 2025. Furthermore, Mrs Petra Kirchhoff resigned from the Supervisory Board at the end of July 2025. New members of the Supervisory Board since April 2025 are Mr. Dominik Langosch from IG Metall and since September 2025, Mrs. Beatrix Henseler. She is the Head of Human Resources at Sartorius. They both serve on the Supervisory Board as employee representatives. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Mrs. Kirchhoff and Mr. Sawko most sincerely for their many years of constructive collaboration. At the same time, I would like to welcome Mrs. Henseler and Mr. Langosch once again to the Supervisory Board. As usual, you can find details of the composition of the Supervisory Board and its committees for the reporting year in the annual report. Please refer for that to pages three, 351-357. For all shareholders entitled to attend, as well as their proxies, this entire AGM meeting will be broadcast today via our password-protected online service, our AGM portal. All other participants can follow the first part of the event via the Sartorius website. The address for this is www.sartorius.com/hauptversammlung or AGM. As in previous years, the webcast will end after the chairman's speech. A recording will be available after the meeting. In the event of any technical issues with the broadcast, we will provide information on how to proceed via the AGM portal. We'll now turn to the formalities for this AGM. The meeting was convened by publication in the Federal Gazette on the 16th of February 2026 in due form and within the prescribed time limit. A copy of the Federal Gazette is in the possession of the acting notary public, and it is attached to the minutes. The same applies also to proof of the notice publication throughout Europe. Since the publication of the invitation in the Federal Gazette, all other necessary documents and information relating to the AGM have also been available on the company's website. Notifications pursuant to Section 125 of the German Stock Corporation Act have been sent in accordance with the statutory requirements. I hereby confirm that today's AGM has been convened in due form and time in accordance with the laws and the articles of association. The company has received neither supplementary motions to the agenda, no countermotions, nor nominations for election. I will now explain how you can exercise your rights as shareholders at today's virtual AGM. To enable you to exercise your rights, the company has set up the AGM portal mentioned earlier, available in German and English. Your personal login data for this portal have been sent to all eligible participants. Registered shareholders can now follow the entire AGM live via the portal. During the general debate, you may also exercise your right to speak and your right to information, and provided you hold ordinary shares, your voting rights as well. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it is still possible to exercise your voting rights via the portal, even now during our meeting. You can exercise your voting rights by electronic postal vote. You can grant a proxy and instructions for the exercise of voting rights to the proxies, or you can authorize other persons. You can submit proof of proxy and change or revoke votes and instructions already cast. Also any powers of attorney can be revoked. You may exercise your voting rights until the end of the respective vote. I will inform you of this time in good time during our meeting. It's no longer possible to cast a vote during today's AGM by any means other than via the AGM portal. For the sake of good order, it should be noted that, of course, ordinary shareholders or their proxies already had the opportunity prior to the AGM to cast their votes either by the AGM portal or by post, email, or through intermediaries. The necessary information and documents were sent to shareholders together with their login details for the AGM portal, and they were also available for download on the company's website from the date the AGM was convened. Preference shareholders are not eligible to vote in today's AGM. Furthermore, shareholders registered for the AGM or their proxies had the right to submit written comments on items on the agenda via the AGM portal prior to the AGM. This option was available until the 20th of March, 2026. Comments received in good time were made available immediately via the AGM portal and can still be viewed there now. Let us now turn to your options for exercising your right to speak. Both ordinary and preference shareholders or their proxies have the right to speak via video communication. To register to speak, please use the virtual speaking list on the AGM portal, which has been open since 11:00 A.M. this morning. Motions, nominations, or requests for information may also form part of your contribution. Information may be requested at today's AGM regarding company matters, provided that such information is necessary for the proper assessment of an item on the agenda, and there is no right to withhold this information. As the chair of the AGM, I hereby stipulate that the right to information at today's AGM may be exercised exclusively via video conference communication through the AGM portal, which is within the framework of the right to speak as just explained before. The company has also provided an additional opportunity to ask questions on a voluntary basis. Here, eligible shareholders or their proxies could submit questions regarding the agenda in writing via the AGM portal by the 21st of March, 2026. However, no shareholder or proxy has made use of this additional opportunity to submit questions. Furthermore, requests pursuant to Section 131 (4) of the German Stock Corporation Act may be submitted via the AGM portal until the end of the general debate. It is also possible to use the portal to lodge an objection to one or more resolutions of the AGM and in the event of a refusal to provide information to submit a request for the question and the reason for the refusal to be recorded in the minutes. You may submit such statements or requests from the opening of the meeting until its conclusion, and these will then be forwarded to our notary. Now a few comments regarding the participants of today's meeting. List of participants includes shareholders participating electronically or by proxy, including those shareholders who have granted the company's proxy holders the power of attorney and instructions to exercise their voting rights, as well as the representative shareholders participating via video. No later than before the first vote, I shall announce the following. The number of shares held by shareholders connected via video link or represented, the number of shares represented by the proxies, and the number of electronic postal votes. List of attendees and any addenda will be made available on the AGM portals. Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to explain the procedure for requesting the floor and being granted the floor in a little more detail. If you wish to speak following the executive board's remarks on the agenda, please register your request to speak via the virtual speaking list on the AGM portal. Please follow the instructions on the AGM portal. Once you have registered to speak, we will contact you to check your technical setup. Essentially, what you will need is a camera and a microphone that can be accessed via your browser. If we are unable to ensure that the video communication is working properly, we reserve the right to decline your request to speak. Those shareholders or proxies who have been approved to speak will be called upon in due course, and subsequently, they will be connected to the meeting. Please note that once you're connected to the meeting, your speech will be broadcast live with video and audio. Of course, you may also register to speak during the debate. However, I would be grateful if you could register as soon as possible so that I can estimate how many speakers we can expect. Even if you state it when registering to speak via our AGM portal that you intend to table a motion or a nomination, you must please present this again verbally during your speech. I would like to point out already at this stage that we intend to conduct the debate as a general debate. That means it will cover all items on the agenda. I would therefore ask you to include all relevant points in your speech, concerning agenda items that you wish to address. Following our general debate, we will then hold a single vote on all agenda items. In this context, please note that you still have time until the end of the voting to cast postal votes via the AGM portal or to grant, amend, or revoke a proxy and instructions to the company's proxy holders. I will announce the end of the voting in advance. Once the voting results have been determined, I will confirm and announce them. In doing so, I intend to make use of the option provided for by law to determine and announce only the approval vote and the result for each resolution. The detailed voting results will be displayed in parallel with the announcement and will be available for you to read on the website. As chair of the meeting, please allow me to make the following remarks. The AGM, and in particular also the general debate, thrives on free speech. We are therefore forgoing the production of a stenographic record. Only the questions asked will be recorded in shorthand to assist the administration in providing answers. Furthermore, only the publicly accessible part of the AGM, up to and including the speech by the board, will be recorded. No further recording will take place thereafter. This also applies to the general debate. I ask for your understanding that you are also not permitted to make any video audio recordings of this AGM. Ladies and gentlemen, I now have the list of attendees. I am pleased to announce the attendance at today's annual general meeting as follows: until 12:03 there were shareholders and proxies with a total of 90,058,941 ordinary and preference shares. That is 25.45% of capital. Of this shared capital to the amount of EUR 74,880,000, divided in 74,880 shares. At this point in time on today's AGM there were 19,347,555 ordinary shares represented by proxies. That is 55.84% of the share capital. On top of that, at this point, the electronic votes were cast for 13,270,458 ordinary shares, with this corresponding same number of votes. In total at this point in time, 43.56% of the share capital were represented through electronic postal vote or through a proxy with instructions through a company proxy. The company has currently 3,201,301 ordinary and 2,626,379 preference shares currently in the hands of the company. According to Section 71b German Stock Corporation Act, there are no voting rights arising from those shares. A copy of the attendance figures and the list of attendees has also been provided to the notary. The list of attendees will be available for you to view on the AGM portal shortly. To determine the respective attendance, supplementary lists will be drawn up where necessary, and I will duly inform you and our notary of these. In addition, the supplementary list will also be made available on the AGM portal. We will now move on to the agenda. To begin with, the Supervisory Board and the Management Board will present their reports, focusing in particular on the documents mentioned under agenda item one. Agenda item one concerns the presentation of the financial statements and the consolidated financial statements, as well as the combined management report and group management report of the company and the report of the Supervisory Board, each for the financial year 2025. I hereby note that these documents have been available since the convocation of this Annual General Meeting on the internet at the address www.sartorius.com/hauptversammlung, and remain available there during today's Annual General Meeting. I further note that the financial statement and consolidated financial statement prepared by the Board of Directors per 31st of December 2025 and the consolidated financial statement were audited by the auditors elected at the last annual general meeting, PricewaterhouseCoopers GmbH, Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Frankfurt am Main, and issued with an unqualified auditor's opinion. Following its own review at the supervisory board meeting on February 6, 2026, the supervisory board approved the financial statements of Sartorius AG and the group prepared by the executive board, as well as the combined management report and the group management report. In doing so, it followed the recommendation of the audit committee, which on February 5th, 2026 has examined the financial statements and the auditor's findings in detail. The annual financial statements of Sartorius AG are thus adopted in accordance with Section 172 of the German Stock Corporation Act. Accordingly, we do not require a resolution. Ladies and gentlemen, before I hand over to the executive board, I would like to briefly provide some comments on the 2025 financial year from the supervisory board's perspective. As always, you will find our detailed written report in the Sartorius annual report on the pages 14- 9. I would therefore like to focus my remarks on selected aspects. During the 2025 financial year, a total of six meetings were held at which the supervisory board examined in detail Sartorius's financial position and strategic direction on the basis of the executive board's report. In addition to business performance and strategy, issues relating to the risk profile, risk management, internal control systems, and compliance played a key role in the discussions. Other key topics included the reappointment and contract extension of Dr. Alexandra Gatzemeyer and the drafting of the corresponding Executive Board contract. The election of Dietmar Müller as the new Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board. The acquisition of MatTek, a leading developer and manufacturer of 3D microtissue models. The digitalization of business processes and AI developments within the group. The results of the Supervisory Board self-evaluation, updates to the competence profile and matters relating to corporate governance and the Executive Board remuneration. Further specific topics discussed by the Supervisory Board are, as already mentioned, explained in the Supervisory Board's written report. Ladies and gentlemen, I would now like to invite the Chairman of our Executive Board, Dr. Grosse, to introduce himself and present the 2025 Annual Financial Statements. Dr. Grosse will also discuss the company's performance and outline the prospects for the future. Mr. Grosse, I would now like to invite you to give your presentation. Well, thank you very much, Mr. Kappich. Dear shareholders, I would also like to extend a warm welcome to all of you. This is my first AGM as CEO of Sartorius AG, and therefore it is a very special moment for me. Let me begin by saying a few words about my own background. I hold a PhD in mechanical engineering and have held international leadership positions for more than 20 years, always in industries where technology, quality and reliability are key to success. Before joining Sartorius, I was CEO of Syntegon, a global provider of process and packaging solutions for the pharmaceutical industry. During that time, I worked closely with pharmaceutical customers and gained deep insight into regulated production processes, GMP requirements, and the responsibility associated with manufacturing sensitive products. Prior to that, I spent many years in various executive and management roles at Tetra Pak in areas such as product development, engineering and global service. I spent the early years of my career in various positions at BMW and Ford, always at the intersection of technology, product development and industrial implementation. These experiences are of great help to me today. They combine technological understanding, customer focus, and the ability to lead organizations through change. All competencies that are of great importance to a company like Sartorius, which operates in a highly regulated and dynamic environment. At the same time, I started here with the necessary humility and knowing that the bioprocessing industry has a unique depth and complexity. That is precisely why in the first few months, I made a conscious effort to listen, ask questions and learn, especially from our employees. It is precisely these people who have deeply impressed me here since I started nine months ago. Everywhere I go, I sense a great pride in contributing to our corporate mission, or, as we say today, our purpose: better health for more people. This connection to our goal and the shared commitment to making progress easier for our customers strongly shape the company. I sense an extraordinary energy, deep expertise, and a strong spirit of innovation. Colleagues from a wide variety of fields contribute ideas, share experiences, and think every day about how we can create even better solutions for our customers. I'm very pleased to be able to shape the future of Sartorius together with this strong team. That is exactly what I would like to discuss in more details today, the company's development and the path ahead of us. In my presentation, I would like to show you why Sartorius is a unique company with a strong market position and attractive growth prospects in an industry that is driven in the long term by highly dynamic technological developments. At the same time, I would like to give you an insight into what we have accomplished over the past nine months since I took on the role of CEO. We have once again conducted a very thorough analysis of our markets, customer needs and strategic direction. Based on this, we have further refined our strategy and defined new medium-term growth targets, which we presented at our Capital Markets Day about two weeks ago. Before we look to the future, let's first take a look back at the past fiscal year together. 2025 was a successful year for Sartorius. We continued to grow, and earnings rose even more sharply than revenue. This means we fully met our 2025 business forecast. In concrete terms, 7.6% revenue growth in constant currencies compared to the previous year, bringing full year revenue to around EUR 3.5 billion. Operating profit rose by 11.2% to just over EUR 1 billion. The profit margin, measured here by operating EBITDA, rose by a full 1.7 percentage points to 29.7%. The performance of the divisions continues to vary, but both contributed to the positive revenue trend. The larger bioprocess division, which accounts for around 80% of consolidated revenue, achieved nearly double-digit revenue growth. It is encouraging that the smaller laboratory division also returned to growth in the second half of 2025 and was able to close the fiscal year with revenue nearly at the previous year's level. The biggest driver of the revenue and profitability was the consumables business. This segment is characterized by recurring revenue and high margins and accounts for the majority of Sartorius revenue. At the same time, customers remain cautious about making major investment. This had a corresponding impact on our equipment and instruments business, which was still declining but is gradually stabilizing. We are confident that this positive trend will continue in the current year. In 2025, we also launched a range of new products. This includes innovative filtration solutions for faster processes, some of which are made from PFAS-free materials. The Pionic system, which we developed in collaboration with Sanofi and launched the first two modules of last year, also represents a major innovation. Other innovations include Biobrain Operate, a cloud-based app that uses artificial intelligence to help further automate bioprocesses, reduce errors, and thereby speed up the processes. Behind me, you can also see bioanalytical instruments that we further developed or introduced last year to help our customers achieve faster research results. For example, the Incucyte, the only incubator with confocal imaging, ideal for analyzing 3D cell models, as well as other improved instruments in the field of bioanalytics. Furthermore, we do not create all innovations on our own. In early July, we completed the acquisition of MatTek. MatTek is a leading developer and manufacturer of human cell-based microtissues and 3D models. These mimic human tissue and thus deliver more prize. Precise results in drug research than 2D models. Additionally, they can help reduce animal testing. Just one month later, we entered into a partnership with the U.S. startup Nanotein Technologies. Its reagents are particularly well-suited for applications in the field of cell therapies. They enhance the activation and expansion of immune cells, two key steps in the production of, for example, CAR T-cell therapies for cancer. Sartorius now distributes these products exclusively worldwide, and we are working together on their further development. In 2025, we also continued to implement our plans for the global expansion of research and production capacities with investments totaling EUR 442 million. The goal is to prepare our infrastructure for further organic growth and to strengthen our flexibility. In doing so, we successfully completed several projects, such as the expansion of our facility in Aubagne, France. Over the past few years, we have significantly expanded production and logistics capacity there, as well as capacity for the development of our sterile single-use bags and invested in automation. Other projects are still underway. A prime example is our largest current investment in Songdo, South Korea. We are continuing to build a brand-new production facility for consumables. We are located here in a true biotech hub from which we plan to serve the South Asian market starting in 2027. However, Göttingen and Freiburg also account for significant investments in 2025. In addition, we took an important step last year to equip some of our sites for the production of more sustainable products, namely through certification by the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification Initiative. Abbreviated as ISCC. ISCC PLUS is the global standard for renewable and recycled raw materials, and it is precisely these materials that we can now use in a traceable manner at four locations, thereby manufacturing products from biocircular materials. This reduces the proportion of fossil-based materials in some of our products. To date, the sites in Göttingen, Aubagne, Hainburg, and Stonehouse have been certified, with more to follow. With our profitable growth and increased earnings, we have laid the foundation for another dividend payment. Based on the basic earnings per share of EUR 4.78 for common stocks and EUR 4.79 for preferred stock. We are proposing a dividend of EUR 0.73 per common share and EUR 0.74 per preferred share to today's Annual General Meeting. Ladies and gentlemen, now that we have reviewed the past fiscal year, let us take a look together at the foundation that distinguishes Sartorius and upon which we intend to build in order to continue our successful growth trajectory. What drives us is the goal of better health for more people. We contribute to this by helping our customers in the biopharmaceutical industry develop drugs faster and manufacture them more efficiently. On the one hand, this enables new innovative drugs to be brought to market that offer better or even first of their kind treatments for serious diseases. On the other hand, it also aims to reduce costs so that more people worldwide can have access to these modern medicines, and the burden on healthcare systems is eased. Simplifying progress, that is always our guiding principle. It shapes our decisions, our processes, and everything we do. I already mentioned that Sartorius is distinguished by its unique market positioning. Let me elaborate on what that sets, and what exactly sets us apart. Our focus on the biopharmaceutical industry's value chain, a highly regulated sector with particularly stringent requirements for its suppliers and at the same time an attractive growth profile. We have been among the leading providers here for decades. The reason for this is our unique combination of portfolio breadth, deep scientific and application-specific expertise, global scale, global strategies, and proven reliability, all capabilities that are hard to replicate. Our technologies are deeply integrated into our customers' workflows across the entire biopharmaceutical value chain, from early development to commercial production and across all major regions. This integrated approach ensures reliability, quality, and regulatory compliance, and that is precisely what makes Sartorius not just a supplier, but a true strategic partner for biopharma customers worldwide. This clear focus is reflected in strong business performance. Over the past 10 years, Sartorius has recorded average revenue growth of approximately 12% per year, consistently outpacing the market. At the same time, growth was profitable, with margins increasing by around 60 basis points annually, corresponding to a total increase in the operating EBITDA margin of 6 percentage points to 29.7%. Over the past 10 years, Sartorius has also purposefully expanded its product portfolio and tailored to the needs of life science customers. This customer segment now accounts for approximately 85% of our revenue. What has made Sartorius the company it is today is the consistent expansion of our portfolio along our customers' value chains. Over the past 10 years, Sartorius has significantly strengthened its offering for life science customers in key areas. One example is the expansion of our bioanalytics portfolio, which allows us to address the early research phases of drug development even more effectively. Likewise, through acquisitions in the purification sector, we have closed a critical gap in our portfolio for drug manufacturing. As a third key focus area, I would like to mention the expansion of our offering for cell and gene therapies, a relatively new class of therapies that will increasingly shape industry growth in the coming years and decades. As a result, we can say today we support our customers along the entire biopharmaceutical value chain from early stage research in the lab, where targets and drug candidates are identified, all the way through to commercial production on an industrial scale. This applies across all biological modalities from monoclonal antibodies and vaccines to new therapeutic classes, such as ADCs, as well as cell and gene therapies. This allows us to benefit from growth across the different modalities while providing our customers with the critical tools they need to succeed. Let me briefly elaborate on the added value our products offer to our customers. In the early phases, the primary focus is on accelerating drug development. This is more important today than ever. Competitive pressure in biopharmaceutical research is increasing. Development timelines must be shortened, and costs must be managed more efficiently. At the same time, there's an increasing pressure for automation, for additional insights into mechanisms of action, and for earlier well-informed decisions in research and development. The goal is to avoid late stage and highly costly failures in clinical phases. Our portfolio is precisely tailored to these requirements. In addition to drug development, the majority of our portfolio focuses on the downstream steps, namely process development and the complex manufacturing process. Here, too, one thing matters above all else, and that is speed. Also efficiency. As soon as the right candidate is identified, the race begins to establish a scalable, efficient manufacturing process. That's when the right decisions must be made quickly. In the subsequent commercial manufacturing phase, the focus then shifts to yield. Throughout this entire process, our products, including cell culture media, reagents, bioreactors, filters, solutions for liquid management, and also purification, deliver significant added value. They enable a safe and flexible process design. They increase yield and as well as productivity, for example, through process intensification while simultaneously reducing capital intensity. The strong performance of our products and our highest quality standards are reflected in strong market positions in key technologies, where Sartorius ranks among the world's leading providers. In addition to its focus on a growth market and a strong market positioning, Sartorius offers an attractive and a resilient business model. This is characterized by a high proportion of recurring revenue. We generate approximately 80% of our revenue primarily from consumables and reagents, but also from software and services. We have a large installed base of systems and instruments in the market, combined with ongoing investments in new instruments, and that drives our high margin recurring business. Another key aspect of our business model is drug manufacturing processes are strictly controlled, and they must be validated by the relevant health authorities. The further along a customer is in the development process, the less likely they are to switch suppliers. Once we are part of a validated process, switching to suppliers is complex, costly, and therefore is very rare from the customer's perspective. This means that once specified, we benefit from recurring revenue over the entire life cycle of a drug. We generate approximately 55% of our revenue in such commercial validated processes. The stable and recurring revenue base has been a key growth factor in recent years, and it ensures high predictability, strong cash generation, and resilience. It provides a very solid foundation as we look ahead and enter the next phase of growth. Our employees are the most important foundation of our success. Their expertise, their dedication, and their team spirit drives Sartorius forward, today and in the future. A rapidly growing and ambitious team. Between 2020 and 2025, our workforce grew by approximately 3,400 employees to more than 14,000 colleagues worldwide. Global diversity strengthens our innovative power. Employees from many countries, cultures, and professional backgrounds bring a diverse perspective to the table. They make our organization stronger every day. Expertise and collaboration are keys to success. Our team's expertise across the entire life sciences and bioprocessing sector enables us to reliably support customers worldwide and develop new solutions. People make the difference. With a motivated workforce and a shared ambition, we work every day to successfully shape the future of our company. Let's take a look at our market together. It is and has always been the basis of our strategy to have a deep understanding of the markets. The markets that we operate in are driven by strong structural and long-term growth factors. First and foremost, I need to name demographics. The global population is growing and aging. As a result, the incidence of chronic and complex diseases is increasing, and with it, also the demand for medications and therapies. In particular, the biopharmaceutical segment of the pharmaceutical market is growing at an above average rate. We are talking about an annual growth rate of about 10% compared to around 5% of the overall pharmaceutical market, which includes both pharma-biopharmaceuticals and also traditional chemical drugs. This sustained above-average growth will lead to biologics, which already account for about half of that market today, will be further expanding their share. This trend is driven by a well-stocked development pipeline. Around 26,000 drug candidates are currently in development. It's not just the sheer number that's impressive, but also the level of innovation. About 50% of the pipeline consists of novel modalities, namely cell and gene therapies, as well as antibody derivatives such as ADCs and bi and multispecifics, which offer significantly higher efficacy. We are therefore seeing growing demand for drugs as well as an increasing number and a variety of drugs in development. A certain portion of them will receive market approval and then will have to be manufactured. The bottom line is, t he rising production volumes among our customers. Higher volumes mean greater demand for equipment and also higher demand for consumables. What does this mean for our own market, midterm? We expect the market for Bioprocess Solutions to grow by 8%-10% per year. The market for Lab Products & Services by 4%-6% per year. Combined, this results in a midterm market growth of around 7%-9% at group level. However, we've also taken a very close look at the trends within our addressable markets. After all, they determine the direction of development and what it will take to remain a relevant technology provider in the future. Let me discuss the production of biopharmaceuticals and the process in the lab. With regard to the manufacturing process, we see that production is moving further and further away from the original stainless steel-based processes. Production is becoming increasingly single-use based, more intense, automated, data-driven, and overall more flexible and modular. We expect the adoption of single-use technologies to increase, in particular in commercial processes, where the share is currently still quite low. This continues to offer above average growth potential for Sartorius because we have a focus on single-use. This ongoing penetration is supported by continuous productivity gains as well as the pipeline mix. That is the fact that for just over half of the modalities currently in development, for example, cell and gene therapies, here is a concrete example, single-use will be the preferred platform. Also biopharmaceutical R&D is also undergoing structural change, creating new and additional business opportunities for Sartorius. Automation and AI fundamentally transform laboratory work. The value proposition is shifting from individual analytical instruments to network integrated workflows. Smart instruments, robotics, orchestrated processes, shared data platforms, and AI-powered analytics enable higher throughput, better reproducibility, and faster, higher quality decisions. Let me be very clear about one thing. We view AI as a positive development that will lead to rising demand for our products while simultaneously making them better and more valuable for our customers. In summary, our end markets are growing structurally with particularly attractive growth rates, precisely in those areas where Sartorius is clearly focused and very well-positioned. However, we also see challenges. Pressure on healthcare systems and drug prices, increasing geopolitical and regulatory complexity, and intensified competition in certain regions or product areas. Increased volatility is here to stay. It is therefore crucial that we specifically strengthen our adaptability to strengthen those in particular. Flexibility is becoming a core competency, and we are convinced that Sartorius is well on its way in this regard. At the same time, we must continue to focus on our strength as an innovative and technology-led company in a competitive landscape. Having examined the market and our focus areas, we turn now to the next step. How do we shape our future, and how do we translate that into concrete action? We have broken down our strategy into three key areas, portfolio, customer experience, and operational excellence. First, portfolio. The portfolio is the most important driver of our success to date and will remain so in the future. At its core, it comes down to two things, strengthening innovation while simultaneously capitalizing on new attractive growth opportunities. Second, customer experience, and we want to make interaction with Sartorius simple, reliable, and positive in terms of delivery, speed, quality, and the way we understand customer needs and solve problems. Our ambition and goal is to be the industry benchmark. Third, operational excellence. External excellence requires internal excellence, and that is why we rely on operational performance and efficiency as the foundation for sustainable growth and scalable delivery. Financially, the priorities remain clear. Profitable growth above the market, increasing cash generation, and reducing debt. What makes this possible, there are some important enablers. The most important point are people. Leadership, skills, collaboration, and a culture that enables performance. Equally important are clarity and direction. Making the strategy understandable, aligning everyone, creating focus, and thereby enabling speed in implementation. Empowerment and accountability are crucial for speed because in drug development and manufacturing, speed matters. Finally, we are making targeted investments in AI, data analytics, and automation in our own way of working in our portfolio and across customer workflows. Before I go into our portfolio strategy, let us just look into the future of bioprocessing. As the global population is expected to exceed 10 billion by 2050, with more than 2 billion people over the age of 60, society needs innovative therapies and treatments faster and at significantly lower cost per dose. This is a call for a pioneer to push the boundaries of drug research and discovery. For Sartorius, this means redefining the future of the lab. Connected devices run fully automated, monitored and supervised by AI. Advanced cell models perform toxicology testing and candidate selection in real-time, with high reproducibility, all without the need for human or animal testing. High performance reagents and consumables deliver reliable, scalable output at unprecedented speed. Our innovation doesn't stop at the lab. We are taking the biopharma scaleup journey to the next level. A new ecosystem of fully connected upstream and downstream systems makes commercial manufacturing easier, more intuitive, and faster than ever before. AI-powered data analytics platforms optimize process parameters, revolutionizing commercial manufacturing for maximum yield and process stability. High-end single-use devices enable robust processes and consistent results. Built to scale from pilot facility to manufacturing plant. Sartorius, simplifying progress. A small insight into how we shape the future of the biopharmaceutical industry, and that's exactly what our portfolio strategy is all about. We make a very clear distinction, strengthening our core business and strategically building future business areas. In our core business, the clear focus is on our strength. That is further developing, improving, and optimizing our existing portfolio. In doing so, we aim to increase the share of recurring revenue and the sustainability of our business model. We see three key areas in portfolio development. First, process intensification. This is the key catalyst for further advancing single-use technology in commercial production. Our goal here is not to improve individual products, but to develop the most efficient, best-in-class production line for commercial manufacturing. We don't follow, we lead. Second, at the same time, traditional single-use technologies remain important and offer attractive growth potential. Here, we aim to expand our market leadership through continuous innovation and a focus on applications where quality is particularly critical. Third, bioanalytics is another key focus area. These instruments are increasingly becoming an integral part of the bioprocess itself. We are now utilizing proven technologies from early stage research as a sensor system and at-line analytics on an industrial scale for better process control, consistency and quality. Further development of new business areas involves making selective decisions about where new opportunities arise and where our capabilities give us a strong starting position and allow us to create value with targeted capital investment and management focus. We aim to remain a leader beyond 2030 in areas where new value pools are emerging. We are making targeted investments in three future-oriented fields, where we are already doing pioneering work today, and where we aim to play a leading role. First, solutions for novel therapies. The business has been volatile over the past two years, primarily due to the financing situation in the biotech sector. In the long term, however, the potential remains high. We will continue to expand our specialized portfolio of solutions based on differentiated raw materials, analytical expertise, and instrument capabilities. With the launch of Eveo, our new platform for automated systems in advanced therapies, we sent a strong signal last week. Second, advanced cell models. The demand for methods that do not involve animal testing and for suitable models is growing, both from a regulatory and scientific perspective. We have a very strong starting position here. 3D Incucyte® for organoid models. MatTek as a leading provider of microtissue models, robust reagents, consumables and software AI expertise. Our goal, an integrated platform that is standardized, scalable and automatable. Exactly what customers need today. Third, process analytics. We bring our analytical technologies closer to production. At-line, in-line, and real-time analytics that shorten batch release times, reduce risks, and enable data-driven, more efficient manufacturing. Why we're confident? Well, in all three areas, we have the technology, experience, customer insight and ambition to lead the way. But innovation alone is not sufficient. What matters is that customers feel the difference every day in our reliability, transparency, support, and easy collaboration. That brings us to the next pillar of our strategy, enhancing the customer experience. Sartorius has always been more of a partner than a supplier, and that is becoming increasingly important. What customers need today is clear, reliable supply, the right products in the right place, easy interaction, transparency, fast response times, and strong technical support. That is why we have launched group-wide initiatives to streamline processes, facilitate collaboration, further improve quality and on-time delivery, and to embed the customer's voice more strongly than ever in our decision-making. This brings us to the third pillar of our strategy, because we will only achieve that if our internal processes are becoming more efficient. At the core, it involves a cost-efficient, digitized, and lean organization that reliably supports our growth ambitions. One example of this is our factory of the future. We are combining state-of-the-art technologies, AI, automation, digital tools, and lean methods to demonstrate what highly efficient manufacturing will look like in the future. At the same time, we're looking at our global production and expertise network to ensure we have a resilient, adaptable structure that delivers even in the new global environment. For us, operational excellence means simplifying processes, increasing productivity, avoiding duplication of effort, and optimizing value streams using all the tools that modern production offers today. Another key focus is our strategic sourcing. We are strengthening partnerships with suppliers to improve cost, quality, and availability, supported by AI and digital solutions. In summary, internal excellence is the prerequisite for delivering external excellence and the key to scaling our growth efficiently and sustainably. Let's now turn to our outlook for the current fiscal year, which we published in early February. For 2026, we expect to continue on our profitable growth trajectory, and for the group, we expect a revenue growth in constant currencies +5% to +9%. Underlying EBITDA for profitability is expected to increase to slightly over 30%. Given the early stage of the year and continued high macroeconomic and industry-specific volatility, we have deliberately set a broader guidance range. The lower end reflects a conservative scenario with weaker market performance currently. We expect, however, market conditions to continue normalizing and the positive trends to be further confirmed. The quarter has also been positive so far and in line with our expectations. Let's now look at the segment forecast. For Bioprocess Solutions, we expect a revenue growth of 6%-10%. The underlying EBITDA margin should slightly rise to above 32%. For LPS, revenue growth is expected to be +2% to +6%, including a +1.5 percentage point growth contribution from MatTek. Underlying EBITDA margin, that moves slightly below 21%. That is firstly targeted at our investments in advanced cell models, as well as an unfavorable mix, foreign exchange effects and existing tariffs. How does this outlook fit into our midterm perspective? 2026 is a year of transition. The industry is back on track. However, it has not yet fully reached its long-term growth pace. We currently see improvements in the following areas of previously dampened growth. We are seeing a noticeable stabilization in the equipment segment. Many customer decisions reveal a more positive sentiment, and we are seeing the first signs of a market recovery. The question is, it's more a matter of exactly when in the year the turning point will come. China is showing slight improvements, but yet no cause for celebration, but noticeably less headwind than in 2024 and 2025. Additionally, we are seeing an increased demand from Chinese companies looking to expand globally. Here we benefit from our regulatory expertise and from our international footprint. The biotech segment was challenging in 2025, especially in the first half of the year. We are now seeing a noticeable improvement in sentiment, increased activity, as well as greater confidence among our customers. Let's turn to our midterm financial targets for the period beyond 2026. In the BPS division, we aim to achieve growth of approximately 1-2 percentage points above the market average, driven by our leading position in single-use solutions, our progress in process intensification, and our portfolio of novel therapies. In the lab segment as well, we are targeting growth of approximately 1+1 percentage point above the market through Above the market through our focus on fast-growing areas such as bioanalytics and advanced cell models. Combined with our assumptions for respective market growth, this results in an average annual organic growth rate of 9%-12% for BPS and 5%-7% for LPS. For the group, this translates to growth of 1 +1 to +2 percentage points above the market and thus 8%-11% organic revenue growth. On the margin side, we continue to see operational levers as particularly through positive economies of scale resulting from growth, positive portfolio and product mix effects, improvement driven by efficiency and productivity gains. Consequently, the increase in margin for the group should be approximately 0.5-0.75 percentage points. Let me summarize. Sartorius is excellently positioned for the future. We serve a highly attractive market with high barriers to entry and strong structural growth drivers. In this market, we hold a leading position in key technologies, and we are among the innovation leaders in dynamically growing segments. We have a highly attractive business model with a high proportion of recurring revenue and strong scalability. We are building on this foundation, and we have set the course for the future. Looking ahead, we are focusing our investments where new value pools are emerging. This means strengthening innovation where technology makes the biggest difference and consciously allocating capital to create long-term value. This will strengthen our leadership position in our core business and enable target expansion of future growth areas. At the same time, we are consistently expanding our customer experience promise, speed, reliability, quality and technical excellence. Those are values that have built trust over decades and that we are now taking to the next level. For us, operational excellence is not just an internal matter, it is the key to effectively translating our innovative strength and growth into optimal economic results. We have implemented concrete measures to increase operational efficiency across all areas. We are well-positioned to continue outpacing the market in the medium term and to expand our margins. The structural growth drivers are in place. Our positioning is right, and we are moving with great confidence into the next phase of our development. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for your attention. Thank you, Dr. Grosse, for your speech. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the live webcast of our annual general meeting. Thank you very much for your interest in our company. For shareholders and their proxies who have registered via the AGM portal, the general debate will now continue.