Investing.com -- Swiss vacuum valve manufacturer VAT Group AG (SIX:VACN) lowered its 2027 sales outlook, pointing to continued market headwinds and currency pressures. The stock fell 3% in European trading Tuesday.
The company now expects revenue of 1.5 billion to 1.7 billion Swiss francs ($1.80 billion–$2.04 billion) in 2027, down from the 1.8 billion to 2.2 billion francs it projected at its 2022 capital markets day.
VAT attributed the revision to a weaker outlook for wafer fabrication equipment spending and adverse foreign exchange movements, particularly the strength of the Swiss franc against other major currencies including the U.S. dollar.
The company noted that it now sees 2027 global wafer fab equipment (WFE) investment at $125 billion, a 7% drop from the previously forecast $135 billion.
For the 2025 to 2029 period, VAT is targeting annual sales growth in the low to mid-teens, compared with its earlier expectation for low double-digit growth.
The EBITDA margin range for that period has also been cut to 30-37%, from 32-37%.
“We forecast 2025 revenues to grow 15%, lower than previous company indications of closer to 20%,” Jefferies analysts said in a note.
“Our current revenue forecast for 2027 is also below the low-end of the new company guidance, at CHF1.23bn. We expect some weakness in memory WFE spend in 2026, with the strength of subsequent recovery difficult to predict,” they added.
VAT Group also said it expects to grow as much as twice as fast as its underlying markets, a goal Jefferies believes is “entirely possible.”
Moreover, the group said that while short-term challenges persist, the global semiconductor market remains on course to exceed $1 trillion by the end of the decade, with potential upside from accelerating AI adoption.