Opening the next chapter
of long-term growth.

In 2025, Comet made good progress: We advanced our strategic priorities in a demanding environment, while maintaining discipline in execution and continuing investment in innovation. Although the semiconductor cycle began a gradual recovery, we continued to operate in a challenging global setting shaped by geopolitical tensions, tariffs, and trade restrictions. These factors created heightened uncertainty and sustained caution in the semiconductor value chain, influencing overall market dynamics. In response, we strengthened cost discipline, exercised prudent capital allocation, and placed a strong emphasis on execution. At the same time, we continued to invest in R&D, laying the foundations for sustainable, long-term growth.

Following the initial definition of our focus strategy in 2019, in 2025 we further refined and extended our strategic vision through 2030. This evolution is not a fundamental shift in our business model, but rather a deliberate continuation and sharpening of our strategic priorities. A dedicated chapter in this annual report outlines the key elements of our strategy to 2030 and reflects our commitment to continuously adapting and strengthening our position in a rapidly changing industry.

2025 was not a year of full recovery for Comet and parts of the broader semiconductor industry. Growth accelerated in parts of the market associated with the AI boom, while the market’s other segments saw little to no expansion. For Comet, the year was characterized by strategic progress and continued investment in long-term value creation. Our financial results for 2025 reflect the impact of broader macroeconomic headwinds and unfavorable currency exchange rate movements. While we achieved revenue growth compared with the year before, our margins fell short of the targets set at the beginning of the year, in no small part due to the adverse exchange rate developments in the course of 2025. In line with Comet’s strategy to 2030, we have already identified key levers to enhance profitability going forward.

We remain confident in Comet’s long-term growth prospects. Many of our end markets have yet to return to normalized demand levels, and we see further opportunities to optimize our internal structures and organization. In addition, powerful, favorable structural trends – most notably the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, digitalization, and electrification – continue to reshape the semiconductor industry. These trends underscore the relevance and long-term importance of Comet’s core technologies.

While technology leadership remains central to our strategy, we are equally focused on strengthening our operational foundation and global footprint for market access, as well as for local engineering and manufacturing. In an increasingly fragmented and complex world, resilience, flexibility, and proximity to customers have become critical success factors.

A key strategic initiative in this context is our expansion in Asia, anchored by the establishment of a new Comet facility in Penang, Malaysia. This site will play a central role in supporting our long-term growth in the semiconductor equipment market while further diversifying our global manufacturing footprint. In 2025, we made excellent progress on the construction of the facility, which remains on schedule and within budget, with completion expected in 2026.

One of the defining characteristics of 2025 was our steady commitment to innovation despite economic headwinds. Across all divisions, we achieved several important product and platform milestones during the year.

These advances did not occur in isolation. To ensure successful commercialization, we continued to invest in our global sales and services capabilities, with a particular focus on Asia. As the gravitational center of the semiconductor industry, Asia plays a decisive role in shaping technology roadmaps and customer requirements. Strengthening our presence and capabilities in the region is therefore essential to our long-term success.

The volatile global environment also influenced sustainability regulations. In particular, European regulatory frameworks underwent significant changes in 2025, leading to adjustments relevant for Comet. Fundamentally, however, our commitment remains unchanged: Sustainability is an integral part of our strategy and a key pillar of lasting success. While we align with evolving regulations and stakeholder expectations, we aim to actively contribute to a more sustainable industry by enabling more efficient, low-carbon technologies and promoting the responsible use of increasingly constrained resources. We are convinced that our focus on responsible value creation across environmental, social and governance dimensions – from reducing our climate and environmental footprint and promoting safe, eco-efficient products, to fostering attractive working conditions and ensuring integrity in our business conduct – will strengthen our long-term competitive position.

During the year, we further advanced our sustainable development agenda, initiating and completing a range of projects that are described in greater detail in our sustainability report.

Innovation is ultimately driven by people – their expertise, creativity, and commitment. Recognizing this, we continued to invest in our employees and their skills throughout 2025, despite the challenging economic conditions of the past two years.

Our investment in research and development remained robust, ensuring that we stay ahead of technological trends and continue to deliver differentiated value to our customers. We also placed strong emphasis on developing strategically important skills across the organization, from advanced engineering, data analytics and adoption of AI to project management and customer engagement.

These investments were enabled by our sound financial footing, which provides the flexibility to pursue long-term strategic objectives while navigating short-term volatility. They also reflect our conviction that sustainable success is built on a strong foundation of talent, culture, and shared values.

Looking ahead, uncertainty is likely to remain a defining feature of the global environment. Geopolitical tensions, evolving trade policies, and macroeconomic volatility will continue to influence markets and investment behavior. At the same time, the fundamental drivers of semiconductor demand remain firmly intact.

Our technologies are deeply embedded in these long-term trends. We have two dedicated, new product platforms in each of our technologies to serve today’s and tomorrow’s requirements. However, the adoption of these advanced technologies takes time and success in this environment requires patience, discipline, and a clear focus on long-term value creation rather than short-term fluctuations. Despite the challenges and uncertainties of 2025, we therefore remain confident in Comet’s strategic direction and long-run prospects.

Our strategy is centered on maintaining and expanding our technology leadership in RF power and x-ray solutions for the semiconductor industry, supported by close and collaborative partnerships with our customers. By aligning our innovation efforts with their most demanding requirements, we aim to remain a trusted partner and a key enabler of their success.

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to Comet’s progress in 2025. First and foremost, we thank our employees for their dedication, professionalism, and resilience in a challenging environment. Their commitment and expertise are the vital basis of our success. We also thank our customers and suppliers for their trust, collaboration, and long-standing partnerships. Finally, we extend our heartfelt thanks to our shareholders, for their continued confidence and support. Their loyalty enables us to pursue a long-term strategy focused on sustainable value creation.

With a strong foundation, a clear strategic vision, and a committed global team, Comet is well positioned to navigate the challenges ahead and to seize the opportunities that will arise as the next phase of growth unfolds.