Record Revenue: ZEISS Concludes Fiscal Year for the First Time with Revenue over 10 Billion

All four ZEISS segments are contributing to growth and the market environment, which can be difficult at times, affects them all in very different ways.

The Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment once again achieved an exceptionally high revenue rate despite natural fluctuations in the semiconductor technology market. The overall business from segments from lithographic optics to photomasks, has developed positively.
The high demand for lithography systems for deep ultraviolet (DUV) and extreme ultraviolet (EUV) as well as the first delivery of the optical system for High-NA technology to our customer and strategic partner ASML contributed to growth. In the future, the next EUV generation, High-NA EUV, will enable the production of more powerful and more energy-efficient chips at lower cost.

The Industrial Quality & Research segment also achieved significant double-digit growth. The increasing momentum in both strategic business areas, industrial quality assurance and the microscopy systems business contributed to this. The strong trend from the first half of the year reasserted itself in the area of industrial quality assurance. The diversified portfolio (coordinate measuring machines, optical solutions and software) contributed to the overall success. Growth is expected in the coming fiscal year as a result of forward-looking projects in energy technology and electromobility. Business from microscopy systems for research and science benefited from positive impetus from the pharmaceutical industry and government funding for research in the field of life sciences, among other things.

The ZEISS Medical Technology segment also achieved a significant double-digit increase in revenue in fiscal year 2022/23 and increased its market share. In addition, the stabilization of supply chains, particularly in the second half of the fiscal year, and accelerated deliveries in the areas of ophthalmology and microsurgery made a positive contribution to revenue growth. In the EMEA and AMERICAS regions, revenue growth rates were in the double digits. Revenue in APAC showed a very positive development. Strategic investments and the continued structural optimization of the segment are expected to lay the foundation for further growth in the upcoming fiscal year.

The Consumer Markets segment also closed fiscal year 2022/23 with good revenue growth. High inflation and the associated uncertainty among consumers have affected the market environment and consumer climate and caused a reluctance to spend. In the strategic Vision Care segment, growth was achieved through innovations in branded ophthalmic lenses and eye health as well as the expansion of the digital consumer journey. Growth stimuli came in particular from the APAC and EMEA regions. In Consumer Products, the subdued mood among retailers and consumers as well as price competition had an impact on the result. The strike during film productions in Hollywood over several months affected the cine lens business. ZEISS technologies for smartphone photography have nevertheless increased in popularity. There are slightly positive signals for the coming fiscal year, for example through innovations, additional market development, and expansion of the product portfolio for movie and camera lenses, sports, and nature observation optics.

As of balance sheet date (30 September 2023), group equity amounted to 7.846 billion euros (prior year: 7.173 billion euros), which corresponds to an equity ratio of 52% (prior year: 55%) with an increase in total assets.

All regions contributed to the growth in revenue although APAC demonstrated the most dynamic growth. This region generated significant growth in revenue at 11%. The AMERICAS and EMEA regions also recorded revenue growth and once again contributed to the positive development of ZEISS.

ZEISS is bigger than ever with around 43,000 employees. The ZEISS Group employed 42,992 employees worldwide at the reporting date of 30 September 2023 (prior year: 38,770 employees). The number of employees therefore increased as of 30 September 2022 by around 11% year on year.

The innovations in all four segments perform pioneering work in digitalization. ZEISS develops solutions for semiconductor manufacturing technology which allows chip manufacturers all over the world to produce ever smaller, more powerful, and energy-efficient storage microchips. From vision care via photography through to microscopy, metrology, and medical technology, ZEISS is developing solutions for the digital world. One of the most important achievements of digitalization is artificial intelligence (AI). Current devices and software solutions from ZEISS already contain AI components or have been manufactured with them. There is also a major focus on topics such as intelligent data use or advanced machine learning methods.

“In order to continue to grow profitably in the long term and, at the same time, be resilient in rapidly changing times, ZEISS must continue to develop”, concludes Lamprecht. “In addition to enormous innovative strength, this comprehensive development includes the transformation towards a data and process-driven company. Now is the right time to press ahead at full speed.”

The business environment is becoming increasingly challenging. Risks are arising from the dynamics of the geopolitical situation which are hard to predict, the growing complexity (e.g. due to increased regulatory requirements) and the changing global economic cycles. This leads to a more difficult market environment.

“Success in the future depends on us continuing to keep an eye on the various risks while, at the same time, realizing our potential and maximizing every opportunity. We are confident that we will not only continue to develop but also grow in line with our strategic agenda and transformation activities. We therefore assess the ZEISS Group’s business development for fiscal year 2023/24 as being positive”, Lamprecht concluded.