For the first nine months of the fiscal year, adjusted for inflation, sales and operating profit remained stable. Rising interest rates, on the other hand, are boosting the $2 billion piled up on the balance sheet since this time last year, so that the financial result is adding a providential $575 million to the bottom line.

As a result, earnings per share jumped from $5.7 to $6.5 compared with the same time last year, a remarkable 14% increase. As expected, and as permitted by its situation, Applied returned $3 billion to its shareholders over nine months, two-thirds of which via share buy-backs. I pointed out that for some time now, the Group has been buying back shares at rather high valuations.

Operating cash flow is down by one billion this year - for the time being at least - but we recall that the previous financial year was marked by accelerated inventory liquidations following the difficulties associated with the pandemic. These developments led to a sharp reduction in working capital requirements, which are now being normalized.

The objective of reaching $6.5 billion in free cash flow by 2024 will a priori be achieved. This performance is to be welcomed, bearing in mind that the Group has historically reinvested half of its profits in its business, generally for an average return on investment of around 10%, before redistributing the other half to its shareholders.

This balanced capital allocation is only made possible by Applied's superior scale, and the oligopolistic situation of its sector. In this respect, value creation over the previous cycle is very clear - the equipment manufacturer eliminated its debt and doubled its profits - even if the parabolic expansion during the pandemic was due to a surge in speculative fever.

Notwithstanding exposure to the Chinese market - a critical one, since it accounts for 60% of global demand for semiconductors - the company's valuation is bouncing back towards its usual x25 earnings ceiling.