In 2018/19, the ZEISS Group generated approximately 90 percent of its revenue outside Germany. With a revenue increase of 15 percent (like-for-like), the dynamic national economies in the APAC region in particular continued to drive this positive trend. In the EMEA region, ZEISS was able to further grow with an 8 percent increase in revenue (like-for-like). In the Americas region, revenue of 1.347 billion euros was 2 percent higher than last year's figure (like-for-like). Here, ZEISS has not yet fully leveraged the potential for growth.
The 10 percent increase in expenditures for research and development is a particularly strong indicator of the company's innovation strategy: In fiscal year 2018/19, these expenditures totaled 705 million euros (2017/18: 642 million euros). Support for this strategy came from substantial investments in property, plant and equipment, which also increased significantly to 437 million euros1 (2017/18: 244 million euros) during the reporting period – as compared to depreciations totaling 234 million euros2 (2017/18: 164 million euros). "ZEISS' targeted innovation strategy, combined with substantial expenditures and investments, is a cornerstone of the accelerated growth," says Chief Financial Officer, Dr. Christian Müller. ZEISS also considers it part of its responsibility to deploy sustainability measures that are even more far-reaching than those already in place. On the path to becoming carbon-neutral, the company has decided to switch to a CO2-neutral energy supply in Germany by 2022. "We are making a real difference by implementing a great number of concrete measures to reduce CO2 emissions and protect the climate," says Müller.
The acquisitions concluded during the fiscal year include IanTECH Inc., a micro-interventional cataract surgery specialist headquartered in Reno, USA; and GOM GmbH, a leading supplier of hardware and software for automated 3D coordinate measuring technology headquartered in Braunschweig, Germany. In October 2019, it was announced that ZEISS would invest in Senorics GmbH and enter into a technology partnership with this sensor solutions start-up from Dresden, Germany. At the end of November 2019, the complete acquisition of SAXONIA Systems AG was announced. ZEISS had already acquired a 25 percent stake in the software specialist from Dresden back in 2018. "As part of our cooperations and acquisitions, we are always on the lookout for partners with whom we can expand our technology and software expertise," says Kaschke. "This enables us to focus on opening up new fields of technology and drive strategically important digital projects within the ZEISS Group."
Net liquidity totaled 1,548 million euros on 30 September 2019. It was lower than the previous year (2,120 million euros), primarily due to the acquisitions. However, it continues to ensure sufficient flexibility for strategic acquisitions and investments.
Free cash flow amounted to 806 million euros (2017/18: 752 million euros). Equity rose by 6 percent to 3,990 million euros (30 September 2018: 3,763 million euros).
A proposal was made at the Annual General Meeting of Carl Zeiss AG to pay a dividend of 75 million euros to the Carl Zeiss Foundation, the sole stockholder of the foundation company Carl Zeiss AG. Established in 1889, the Carl Zeiss Foundation is not only one of the oldest private foundations in Germany, but also one of the largest foundations committed to the promotion of science.
As of 30 September 2019, ZEISS had a global workforce of 31,260 employees – with 17,950 outside Germany. The number of employees grew worldwide by 7 percent. The headcount increase occurred primarily in Germany, which added 1,243 new employees. In 2019, employees also shared in the company's success for the tenth year in a row, receiving a total of 42 million euros.
"The tenth record-breaking year in a row confirms that we are on the right track with our corporate strategy, the ZEISS Agenda 2020. This ongoing success also reflects the long-standing trust our customers and partners place in ZEISS. On behalf of the Executive Board, I would like to say thank you. The ZEISS Group's achievements would be unimaginable without our dedicated employees, whose hard work and energy earn customers' trust time and time again. For this, we would like to say how grateful we are to the over 31,000 Zeissians," says Kaschke.