ZEISS on course to further growth

• Revenue rises to EUR 2.3 billion in first half of 2015/16 fiscal year – EBIT reaches EUR 280 million
• Strong growth in direct business
• Ambitious goals for second half of fiscal year
  

The ZEISS Group has ended the first six months of fiscal year 2015/16 (ended 31 March) with an increase in revenue which rose by 5 percent over the previous year to EUR 2.322 billion (first half of 2014/15: EUR 2.206 billion). At EUR 280 million, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) were almost 90 million above the previous year's figure (EUR 191 million).

"The first half of the year went well overall. We achieved particularly strong growth in the Medical Technology and Research & Quality Technology segments," said Dr. Michael Kaschke, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss AG. "In addition, the programs initiated to increase the company's competitiveness are bearing fruit. We will continue with these initiatives in order to maintain and expand the leading position that we already hold in many areas."

The Research & Quality Technology segment – this includes the Industrial Metrology and Microscopy business groups – reported overall growth: while Microscopy remains at the same level as last year and has not yet met its revenue target, Industrial Metrology clearly benefited from the increased demand in virtually all product segments. Medical Technology once again succeeded in expanding its position in the dynamic healthcare market at a high level. The Vision Care / Consumer Optics segment is reporting a strong boost in revenue thanks in particular to product launches in the fields of branded lenses and camera lenses. As expected, the revenue generated by Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology (SMT) has decreased due to the low level of demand on the semiconductor market. However, there are increasingly positive signals on the EUV technology front. The reaction of chip manufacturers to the structuring performance achieved by the EUV scanners was unanimously positive.

ZEISS generates just under 90 percent of its business outside Germany. With revenue totaling EUR 548 million, ZEISS was particularly successful in the Asia/Pacific (APAC) region in the first six months of fiscal year 2015/16. This corresponds to an increase of 16 percent over the previous year (EUR 460 million) after currency adjustments.

ZEISS invests around 9 percent of sales revenue in research and development. In the first half of fiscal year 2015/16 this amounted to EUR 207 million (first half of 2014/15: EUR 221 million).

During the reporting period ZEISS invested EUR 54 million in property, plant and equipment (first half of 2014/15: EUR 58 million). These investments compare to depreciations totaling EUR 76 million (first half of 2014/15: EUR 74 million).

On 31 March 2016 net liquidity amounted to EUR 544 million, 170 million more than the figure posted at the end of fiscal year 2014/15 (30 September 2015: EUR 374 million).

Free cash flow totaled EUR 355 million (first half of 2014/15: EUR 165 million). With a figure totaling EUR 1,410 million, the company's equity rose by around 4 percent over the year-end figure for fiscal year 2014/15 (30 September 2015: EUR 1,357 million).

On 31 March 2016 ZEISS had a global workforce of 25,310 people, approximately the same level as the previous year (31 March 2015: 25,287).

The economic forecasts for the relevant markets and regions remain complex and volatile. Despite the slowdown in growth in the emerging economies and the continuing stagnation in the semiconductor market, ZEISS expects further growth in the second half of the fiscal year: "Our corporate-wide programs aimed at increasing our competitiveness have enabled us to reach our ambitious targets in the first six months. As we are continuing to consistently optimize our cost structures and efficiency, we predict a slight increase in both revenue and the EBIT margin overall in 2015/16," says Kaschke.

"With our innovative strength, we see the increasing level of digitization as a major opportunity for us to tap into and shape new growth markets, particularly in the areas of healthcare and Industry 4.0," said Kaschke, underscoring his growth expectations. "Digitization will also enable us to further sharpen our focus on the needs of our customers."