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The Zeiss company logo hangs on the Zeiss Meditec AG factory.
© Stefan Puchner/dpa/archive image
Growth rates of one percent are unusual for Carl Zeiss Meditec.
The board blamed temporary special effects for this.
There was a reaction on the stock market.
Jena - The medical technology group Carl Zeiss Meditec started the new financial year cautiously due to the reduction of inventories in China and exchange rate effects.
Sales in the first quarter of the financial year that began in October rose by one percent to 475 million euros, as the company, which is listed in the MDax of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, announced on Friday in Jena.
Adjusted for currency effects, there was an increase of 3.3 percent.
The ophthalmology specialist's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell from 60.3 million euros in the same period last year to around 43.5 million euros.
“The supply chains have now calmed down,” said CEO Markus Weber in Jena.
He assumes that the special effect of the reduction in inventories will still have an impact in the second quarter.
“We made it clear last summer that this temporary effect existed.” The background for the stocks of contact lenses for laser eye treatments, among other things, was the 2022 Corona lockdowns in China.
In order to remain able to deliver, Zeiss Meditec had built up higher inventories, which are now being reduced.
According to the board, China is an important market for the Thuringian company, accounting for around 25 percent of sales.
The Board of Directors reiterated its forecast that sales will at least match market growth.
In addition, the second half of the year will be more profitable.
The stock market was similarly optimistic: Meditec shares temporarily rose to their highest level in nine months at just under 120 euros per share.
Weber pointed out that Meditec still has a “high need for strategic investments”.
The recently announced share buyback does not stand in the way of this.
CFO Justus Felix Wehmer said, “In the past we have been criticized for our high level of liquidity.”
The company is still on the lookout for possible investments or takeovers that would complement its own product range.
The takeover of the Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center (DORC) was announced in December for the first half of 2024.
According to Meditec, the transaction is worth 985 million euros.
The Thuringian group employs around 4,800 people at home and abroad, including more than 2,200 in Germany.
Zeiss Meditec specializes in lasers, surgical microscopes, devices and artificial lenses for the treatment of eye diseases.
dpa