Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Mersen conference for the Q3 sales of the group, presented by Luc Themelin, CEO, and Thomas Baumgartner, CFO. For your information, this meeting is being recorded. You can listen during the talk, and then you can ask your questions at the end. So use star one on your phone to send in your question. If you need any help, please press star zero for help. I will now hand over to Luc Themelin. Thank you. Hello, everyone, and welcome to our conference call. Let me start with a few highlights of the period. So we had a very good Q3 and record sales for the first nine months of the year at EUR 910 million and organic growth of 15%. The SiC semiconductor and electric vehicle markets, which are the pillars of our 2027 plan, performed particularly well. In the SiC market, sales nearly doubled to EUR 65 million over nine months compared with the same period. As for sales of electric vehicles, growth was also strong, though at a lower level of EUR 17 million over nine months. We see the process industries that continue to perform well for both divisions with double-digit growth. So, thanks to this good performance, we can confirm the targets for 2023 announced last July, and we have specified the ranges for organic growth and capital expenditure. Now I'll hand over to Thomas, who will give you details about Q3 sales. Thank you, Luc, and hello, everyone. So the Q3 sales reached EUR 302 million, with organic growth of 8.6%, compared with a very strong Q3 last year. The currency effect impacted our sales figures this quarter for about EUR 18 million, mainly due to the depreciation of the Chinese Renminbi and the US dollar. There's also a small change in the scope of consolidation corresponding to the disposal of the German tantalum anticorrosion equipment, which was signed last August. Around 5% of growth can be attributed to price increases, mainly in North America and Europe. So if we look at the different segments, we'll start with advanced materials, and here we have organic growth of 6.7%, and sales of EUR 166 million. There are three things to note here. First of all, the SiC semiconductor market that Luc mentioned was very strong and exceeded EUR 22 million this quarter. In 2022, the full year figure was EUR 52 million. Second point, process industries remain buoyant. Third, as announced previously, the solar power market is stable since we decided not to allocate more capacity in China to this market. Last point, in advanced materials, deliveries to the chemicals market were lower this quarter. As you know, this market is strongly tied to contracts for Mersen. In the electrical power division, the sales were EUR 136 million, representing organic growth of 11%. Electrical distribution in Europe and the United States remained very dynamic, supported by price increases. Growth was also strong in electric vehicles, as Luc mentioned, with sales of bus bars for heavy vehicles and fuses totaling over EUR 6 million for the quarter. On the other hand, there were fewer projects for power electronics, especially in Asia. Now, if we look at the breakdown by geographic zone, sales in Europe grew strongly in both divisions, thanks to the semiconductor, rail, and chemicals markets. Sales remain brisk in France and Germany. In Asia, sales were slightly down compared to last year, mainly due to fewer projects in China and Japan in both the rail and energy markets. In North America, business was strong in both divisions and in a large number of markets, particularly renewable energies, semiconductors, and process industries. As for the rest of the world, which represents rather low sales, generally, business was down comparatively due to a non-repeat of major deliveries for the chemicals market in South Africa and Morocco. So it's thanks to this good performance, we can confirm our objectives for the year and give a more precise range for organic growth and CapEx, which was quite broad. So now, we forecast organic growth of between 11% and 12%, whereas previously it was announced at 10%-12% in the previous guidance. Operating margin before non-recurring items between 11% and 11.2%, and investments of between EUR 175 million and EUR 200 million, where previous guidance announced EUR 150 million- EUR 200 million. Also, I would like to inform you that we have extended the maturity of our syndicated credit facility by an extension of a year, giving us an average maturity of around 4.5 years. So those are my main comments, and now Luc and I will be happy to take any questions you may have. Just a reminder, if you'd like to ask a question or make a comment, press star one on your phone. Make sure your microphone is turned on. First question, François Valentin, private investor. Over to you, sir. So question from François Valentin. We're waiting for the question from François Valentin. Well, then we'll move on to the next question. Thomas Renaud of Gilbert Dupont. I hope everyone can hear me. Thank you. I have a few quick questions. First of all, is growth in Q3 impacted by any limited production capacity in advanced materials? And the CapEx that you've been committing since the beginning of the year, will that allow you to increase production capacity? That was my first question. And so you were talking about sales for ninth month, while some of the figures were for just for the quarter. But what will we continue to see a positive balance? Because there's some inflation in that mix as well, I presume. And a final question on the scope, - 0.3%, could you tell us what that corresponds to? Thank you. On the scope question, we dispose of an unprofitable activity because we always do a strategic review every year, and there was one that had become less profitable and less strategic, and so we disposed of it. It was about EUR 8 million a year in sales. As concerns inflation, yes, 5% in Q3. Sorry, I'm talking about the price increases in Q3. Now, there's a 4% annual inflation, so we will be - we won't be increasing our prices so quickly anymore because there's already been a strong increase. So there, so it should be between 4% and 5% of the price increase, and so our margins are not explained just by the price increase. So you asked about production capacity in advanced materials and the CapEx. No, we are not experiencing difficulties for capacity. We should be at about the middle of our usual range. Now, I'm not sure exactly what the rest of your question was. Well, well, is growth in Q3, is it limited due to your any production capacity difficulties? Well, we had said that 2023 we would be close to full capacity. There's been no great variation there. All right, and if I could ask a further question. On the disposal that you mentioned, in your portfolio of activities, are there any other entities that you, or activities that you are looking to dispose of? Well, every year we do a strategic review of our portfolio, and so we are looking both at acquisitions and disposals, but currently there is nothing major in the works, one way or the other. Thank you. Next question, Julien Onillon of Stifel. Hello, I have two questions. Just quickly on prices, so 5% up this quarter. So you talked about fuses, and you said you raised the prices quite strongly. And so could you, but perhaps others didn't rise so quickly. Could you explain that? But I'd mostly like to come back to some of the decline in the chemicals market, because there had been exceptional deliveries the year before in the Q3, which would explain the lower levels this year. But is there an underlying downward trend nonetheless? Do you expect to see that continue to come down? Because you certainly have an order book that gives you some visibility. So can you tell us a bit about which products for the process industries could therefore perhaps receive less investment if you're expecting a certain contraction or at least less growth? Well, in the process industries, we're not seeing any particular signs of a decline. And that does cover an awful lot of different types of activities. So for the chemicals market, we have, you know, we see variations depending on large orders or contracts. And so it's true that in the chemicals market, it tends to be rather prudent, but nonetheless, we are seeing a sustained business, and we keep a close eye on the trends, and it's still making a strong contribution to the group's sales. As concerns prices, it's true that, yes, in the past there have been difficult years. Now, in Asia, you know, there was no big change there in terms of the pricing. Well, another question. In North America, the price increases, you know, you said there, there was nearly zero in Asia. So does that mean you're close to 10% increase in North America? Well, I can't answer that precisely, but, yes, there was a good increase. Thank you. Next question. Jean-François Granjon of ODDO BHF. Hello, everyone. So I'm wondering about, you know, China and the graphite business. Could you tell us a bit about the situation there? Are you impacted? And another point, you raised, well, a macroeconomic in process industries in there. So we've understood that there's a good dynamics right now and a good growth. So, but in chemicals, but, you know, what about, you know, we know that the chemicals industry can be impacted by macroeconomic factors. Thank you. Well, let's start with graphite and what's going on in China. Well, this is no surprise. You know, there are, you know, there, components, you know, what, where, you know, where, you know, China produces about 80% of certain components for, for the world. So, we know that there are issues around export rules. Whereas, now it, it's true that, you know, we've always kept an eye on the regulations of different governments. Now, if we look at graphite powders, you know, we have to obtain authorizations. But as for... So between the powder, synthetic, and natural composition of, you know, the silicon, these, you know, these have been regulated for quite some time, in fact. As, you know, for us, Mersen is, you know, present in China. So So but we're, you know, we're quite confident, there because the products that we make are not concerned by, most regulations. As for the, process industries, yes, we're seeing slightly lower volumes. But at the same time, you know, this is coming off of some very high growth figures, previously, you know, particularly in the first six months. So yes, we're going, we're prudent in our approach to Q4. Thank you very much. Next question, Jeremy Sigee of BNP Paribas. Hello, everyone. Well, I got some bit of an answer already, but on the process industries, I haven't fully understood. So there was that double-digit growth, was that for Q3 or was it for the nine months? In terms of, what's your visibility there? And the second question on semiconductors. So strong growth at SiC, but, what about the rest of the semiconductor activity in the third quarter? Thank you. Yes, it's true that, you know, there's no surprise there. We pulled in a good performance, eh? So for us, you know, we're still seeing demand. Okay, you know, strong growth for the year, even if Q3 didn't look as strong and in process industry. So that was the double-digit was for nine months. In the last quarter, we were close to double-digit growth for the quarter. Thank you. And the visibility, what about your visibility? Well, there's always the spares market, replacement market is, so we keep an eye on that, but we generally have a visibility for two years. Thank you. So a reminder, if you want to ask a question, press star one on your keypad. Next question is Stephen Flabu of BNP. Hello, everyone. I have two questions. First of all, you talked about the organic growth, that's certain a slowdown in some segments. Is that mostly coming off of the high base of comparison or are you seeing macro decline? And could you also, for 2024, what will be the main drivers? And on the other hand, what might be some points to be careful about? Well, our Q4 was very high last year, so we will again have a high basis of comparison. As we said in process industries don't look as high as before, so this is why we are keeping our guidance at the levels announced. The drivers are still pretty much the same. You know, with the, as, you know, there's a good demand in silicon and SiC. Although, you know, you know, there, even though electric vehicles don't yet represent a very high figures in sales, our development allows us to position ourselves for those sales because it's a very technical market to enter. So, you know, we're looking at, you know, EUR 100 million, which should be coming. And now on the electrical division in North America, we saw some incredible figures there, in fact, so. But we always pay close attention because that's the type of market that can move quickly. And, you know, you know, process industry is 30% of our sales across all of our geographies. So this is something we are continually watching for 2024, you know, we are, you know, we are looking for some of the markets that we've been developing to really take off. Some of our activities are cyclical, of course, but, you know, in EVs, the sales should be rising soon. A final question. On the solar market, there are a lot of India launched a lot of calls for tender to the United States. Are you present? Are you submitting bids on those markets? Well, there are two bids, one in India. So, this will concern our chemicals activity in particular. And on the North American side, yes, we are very close contact with the furnace makers for some very large quantities. So, for more, so we to be ready with more graphite production by 2025. Now there are some smaller projects that we also submit bids for, of course. So this is going to require higher production capacity, which is that planned for now? What's your plan then, if you do win those bids? Well, we don't yet have any very firm demand, so they have to move forward on their side with their projects. And, you know, from between now and 2025, we have the time to get ready. Of course, you know, capacity can be shifted. All right, thank you. Next question, Antoine Laurent of Keren. Hello, everyone. I have a question about pricing for 2024. I know it's a bit early still, and you said you had raised prices quite a bit in the past two years because of the saturated capacity. So would there be any change or stability? Can you give us some indication of that? Well, increased capacity is on the materials side, and, you know, and there's the SiC markets, and these are contracts. And, you know, we include in our contracts, there's an indexation for rises there, so there's no concern there. Okay. But, yes, the prices are stabilizing. We can say that, you know, you know, we, you know, we might see some further modest increases on the American market. Okay, but then, of course, we'll have to see the inflation. We'll have to see what the others are doing, and, well, we will have to react to that. The interpreter apologizes, I could not hear the question. No, in March, we shouldn't see too much change. If once again, if you have any questions? No, no further questions. All right, then. Thank you very much, then, everyone. And so the next conference call, January 25th, for the sales figures of 2023 full year. Thank you very much. Thank you, everyone, and this conference call is now over.