Carl Zeiss Meditec records positive first quarter

In the first three months of the new financial year, the company recorded revenues of EUR 219.0m (previous year: EUR 210.3m) and EBIT of EUR 31.2m (previous year: EUR 28.3m). The EBIT margin improved from 13.4 per cent to 14.3 per cent; earnings per share increased compared to the same quarter of the previous year from EUR 0.21 to EUR 0.29. The strategic business units exhibited very different performance. "Our positive overall growth is due, in particular, to the balanced and broad footing of our business," commented Dr. Ludwin Monz, Carl Zeiss Meditec AG′s President and CEO. "In view of the reserved economic growth in many global markets, the investments we have made in Asia are really paying off now."Revenue by business unitThe Microsurgery strategic business unit (SBU) continued to be profitable and displayed strong growth in the first quarter. Its revenues were up by 10.3 per cent. In contrast, revenues in the Ophthalmic Systems SBU were down by 6.9 per cent with a positive contribution to earnings. As a result of a comprehensive change of models at the end of the year, revenues for Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) decreased. At the same time, a higher level of competition was increasingly noticeable in some segments of this business unit. Revenue in the Surgical Ophthalmology SBU grew by 21.2 per cent. In particular, a new product line for premium intraocular lenses contributed to the positive development.Revenue by regionIn the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) revenues were up by 1.2 per cent with continued, highly non-uniform growth. Germany has continued to be the main sales driver and enjoyed positive growth; the Russian market also proved its continued strength, whereas the most of the other countries recorded reserved or negative growth. Performance in the Americas region was weak during the quarter. Excellent growth rates in South America were counteracted by negative figures on the US market. Once again, the APAC (Asia/Pacific) region recorded substantially double-digit growth of 14.1 per cent. China, Japan and Australia made particularly strong contributions to this growth. In the words of Ludwin Monz, Carl Zeiss Meditec is, on the whole, positioned robustly enough to also deal well with a weaker global economy. "A slower pace of growth will also be reflected in our business over the longer term. However, as things stand today, we are sticking to our targets through to 2015." Revenue by strategic business unit Figures in EUR ′000 3 Months 2011/2012 3 Months 2012/2013 Change from prev. year Ophthalmic Systems 90,700 84,421 - 6.9% Surgical Ophthalmology 24,325 29,472 + 21.2% Microsurgery 95,316 105,106 + 10.3% Revenue by region Figures in EUR ′000 3 Months 2011/2012 3 Months 2012/2013 Change from prev. year EMEA 75,271 76,209 + 1.2% Americas 73,897 72,973 - 1.3% Asia/Pacific region 61,173 69,817 + 14.1% 14.02.2013, Carl Zeiss/zeiss.de