Carl Zeiss Meditec continues on growth course in fiscal year 2017/18

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG increased its revenue further in all strategic business units and regions after twelve months of fiscal year 2017/18. Revenue increased by 7.6 percent (adjusted for currency effects: 11.1 percent), to €1,280.9m (prior year: €1,189.9m). Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to €197.1m (prior year: €180.8m). The EBIT margin remained stable at 15.4 percent (prior year: 15.2 percent). Earnings per share reached €1.41 (prior year: €1.57).

“We achieved our sales forecast, which we had already raised in July 2018 – in spite of negative currency effects. In fiscal year 2017/18 we gained further market shares in both ophthalmology and microsurgery. What is particularly encouraging is that all regions and business segments contributed – the performance of the Americas and Asia/Pacific regions was particularly strong,” says Dr. Ludwin Monz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.

The strategic business unit (SBU) Ophthalmic Devices increased its revenue by 6.0 percent after twelve months of fiscal year 2017/18 (adjusted for currency effects: 9.3 percent), to €933.3m, compared with €880.5m in the same period of the prior year. The laser systems business for vision correction and the diagnostics business developed particularly well. There was also continued solid demand for premium and standard intraocular lenses for the treatment of cataracts.

Revenue in the Microsurgery SBU grew by 12.3 percent (adjusted for currency effects: 16.5 percent), to €347.6m, compared with €309.4 in the prior year. This growth is particularly attributable to the new products for the neurosurgery and dental segments.

Revenue in the EMEA region increased by 4.0 percent (adjusted for currency effects: 5.4 percent), to €378.1m (prior year: €363.4m). Development in the core markets Germany and France was stable. Increases were achieved in the UK, Southern Europe and some Eastern European markets.

A positive trend was also recorded in the Americas region. Revenue increased to €406.5m (prior year: €378.2m). This growth amounted to 7.5 percent (adjusted for currency effects: 14.4 percent) and thus accelerated significantly compared with the prior year. This is primarily due to a continued positive trend in the U.S. market.

The Asia/Pacific (APAC) region grew by 10.7 percent, to €496.3m (prior year: €448.2m). After adjustment for currency effects, this corresponds to an increase of 13.2 percent. Once again, the largest contributions to growth came from China and South Korea.

The EBIT margin was 15.4 percent (prior year: 15.2 percent). Adjusted for special effects, an increase to 15.7 percent was recorded (prior year: 14.8 percent). This was due in particular to a positive development of the product mix. Revenue from recurring business, such as from consumables, implants and services, increased further, and climbed to around 34 percent of revenue (prior year: 33 percent).
Earnings per share declined slightly, to €1.41 (prior year: €1.57). This decrease was attributable to negative currency effects and to the increased number of shares.

Carl Zeiss Meditec AG anticipates further growth for fiscal year 2018/19, at least to the level of the underlying markets. The EBIT margin is expected to range between 14 percent and 16 percent in fiscal year 2018/19 and in the medium term.