Carl Zeiss Meditec improves its results in first six months of financial year 2012/2013
In the first six months of financial year 2012/2013 medical technology company Carl Zeiss Meditec increased its revenue by 2.6% compared with the same period of the previous year, to € 443 million. Earnings before interest and tax improved to € 64.1 million (previous year: € 61.1 million); the EBIT margin rose to 14.5% (previous year: 14.1 percent).
Fuelled by persistently dynamic growth in the intraocular lens business and a continued positive trend in Microsurgery, the Company further increased its revenue and earnings. As reported in the ad hoc disclosure in April, the first-quarter revenue deficit in the Ophthalmic Systems business was reduced, although this took longer than was anticipated at the end of the first quarter.
"Our widespread presence in various business fields and regions enables us to even out any fluctuations in business and to continue our long- term growth trend," says Dr. Ludwin Monz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG.
"We are therefore sticking firmly to our innovation strategy, the expansion of our business in the growth markets and to our overriding objectives."
Revenue by business unit
Once again, the largest revenue contribution in the first half of the year came from the Microsurgery strategic business unit (SBU). Bolstered by a continued rise in demand for visualization systems for microsurgery, this SBU achieved revenue growth of 6% to € 206.7 million (previous year: € 195.1 million).
The Ophthalmic Systems SBU was affected by a high level of competition. The effects of the model change in the area of optical coherence tomography (OCT) also impacted this SBU. A 4.9% decline in revenue to € 175.8 million was countered in the first six months of the year by a positive trend in incoming orders, which slightly surpasses the previous year's level.
The development of business in the Surgical Ophthalmology SBU was very positive in the first six months of the year. The double-digit revenue growth (+16.4%) to € 60.5 million, compared with € 51.9 million in the same period of the previous year, is mainly due to very good sales figures in the premium segment for intraocular lenses for minimally invasive cataract surgery. The picture in terms of reporting regions was once again quite mixed in the first six months of the year. Although there were positive impulses from both China and Japan and Latin America, as well as very good contributions to growth from Germany and Russia, business was characterized by consumer reticence in the USA and a decline in Southern Europe. Overall, this resulted in growth of 2.1% in the EMEA region, a largely stagnating development in the Americas (-0.1%) and a continuation of robust growth, even after the inclusion of significant currency effects, of 5.9% in the Asia/Pacific region.
Outlook – well equipped for further growth
With consistent expansion of our solutions business, based on a broad product range and a balanced regional distribution of business, the Company is sticking firmly to its goals to increase the share of case-number-dependent products and services to 25% by 2015 and to achieve a total EBIT margin of 15%. Steady growth is expected for the current financial year. "We anticipate revenue of between € 880 and 910 million," says Ludwin Monz.
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