Jenoptik influenced by challenging market environment in Q1 2025

• Revenue, earnings, and order intake below prior-year levels
• Financial and balance sheet position remain strong
• 2025 guidance confirmed

“Jenoptik’s business performance at the start of the year was impacted by a challenging market environment, particularly affecting our Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Business Unit. Therefore, as expected, group revenue and earnings did not reach prior-year levels. While we continue to anticipate a rebound of demand particularly in the semiconductor equipment industry in the second half of the year, the risk regarding timing and strength of the recovery has increased,” says Stefan Traeger, President & CEO of JENOPTIK AG. “With our new organizational structure, we have aligned Jenoptik even more closely with customer needs in our attractive growth areas. We are confident that this will allow us to better leverage our medium-term growth opportunities,” he continues.

Revenue below prior-year level due to tough market conditions

The photonics group Jenoptik generated revenue of 243.6 million euros in the first quarter of 2025, down 4.9 percent from the prior-year period (prior year: 256.1 million euros). While the Group achieved revenue growth in the Americas, it fell short of the prior year’s levels in Germany, the rest of Europe, and the Asia/Pacific region.

The Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing Strategic Business Unit (SBU), which focuses on the semiconductor equipment industry, reported lower revenue of 100.9 million euros in the first three months (prior year: 118.7 million euros), due in particular to weaker performance in the lithography area. Thanks in part to strong development in the dental business, the SBU Biophotonics increased revenue by 25.8 percent to 63.8 million euros (prior year: 50.7 million euros). The SBU Metrology & Production Solutions posted lower revenue of 40.6 million euros, down from 47.9 million euros in the prior-year period, primarily due to ongoing challenges in the automotive industry. The SBU Smart Mobility Solutions grew revenue by 19.7 percent to 28.7 million euros (prior year: 24.0 million euros), driven mainly by strong business performance in the Americas and Middle East/Africa regions.

Earnings impacted by lower revenue and product mix effects

As expected, group EBITDA declined to 36.2 million euros in the first quarter of 2025, representing a year-on-year decrease of 18.6 percent (prior year: 44.5 million euros). In particular, lower utilization, a changed product mix, and costs for the move to the new site in Dresden negatively affected the SBU Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing in the first quarter. These impacts could not be offset by the positive development in the SBUs Biophotonics and Smart Mobility Solutions. Due to lower revenue, the SBU Metrology & Production Solutions also recorded EBITDA below the prior-year level. Over the reporting period, the Group’s EBITDA margin was 14.9 percent (prior year: 17.4 percent).

Accordingly, EBIT declined considerably to 16.9 million euros (prior year: 26.0 million euros). At 9.2 million euros, group earnings after tax were also significantly lower than the prior year’s figure of 15.4 million euros; earnings per share amounted to 0.16 euros (prior year: 0.27 euros).

Fairly different demand trends in relavant markets

The Group’s order intake in the past quarter came to 204.6 million euros, down on the prior-year figure of 242.0 million euros. The order intake in the SBU Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing was impacted by both lower demand and a one-off effect from a non-recurring product adjustment in the first quarter. By contrast, the SBU Smart Mobility Solutions saw a sharp increase in new orders, including a contract from Kuwait. The SBU Biophotonics also reported significant growth in order intake. The Group’s book-to-bill ratio came to 0.84 (prior year: 0.94). The order backlog at the end of the first quarter was worth 622.2 million euros (31/12/2024: 670.1 million euros).

In view of the strong medium-term growth prospects in its growth areas – semiconductor technology, medical technology, metrology, and traffic technology – Jenoptik has been expanding its production capacity, most notably through the completion of a new factory in Dresden dedicated to the semiconductor equipment industry. As expected, capital expenditure in the first quarter totaled 14.4 million euros, down from 19.8 million euros in the prior-year period. 

Financial and balance sheet position remain strong

The free cash flow before interest and taxes improved significantly in the first quarter of 2025, reaching 28.9 million euros (prior year: 19.5 million euros) and driven by strong operating cash flow performance. With an equity ratio of 57.7 percent (31/12/2024: 55.6 percent), net debt of 382.2 million euros (31/12/2024: 395.5 million euros), and leverage (net debt in relation to EBITDA) of 1.8x (31/12/2024: 1.8x), Jenoptik continues to have very solid financial and balance sheet ratios.

Outlook for fiscal year 2025 confirmed

The forecast for the fiscal year 2025 is influenced by an exceptionally high level of market uncertainty. For 2025, the Jenoptik Group’s Executive Board anticipates an upturn in the second half of the year in the semiconductor equipment industry, following a slow start. While we have recently seen stronger demand here, overall risks for an upturn have further increased in part due to ongoing discussions and announcements around tariffs and their potential impacts, on both direct customer demand as well as global economic growth for the year 2025 and beyond.

For the current fiscal year 2025, the Executive Board expects revenue to remain roughly at the prior-year level (+/-5 percent) (2024: 1,115.8 million euros). Jenoptik anticipates the EBITDA margin to be between 18.0 percent and 21.0 percent in 2025 (2024: 19.9 percent). Capital expenditure is expected to be significantly below the prior-year level of 114.6 million euros.

This forecast presupposes that political and economic conditions do not deteriorate. Potential portfolio changes are not considered in this forecast.

Conference call for journalists, analysts, and investors

The CEO and the CFO of JENOPTIK AG will hold a conference call with analysts, investors, and journalists (in English) on May 13, 2025 at 11:00 am (CEST).

The presentation on the first quarter of 2025, the Quarterly Statement for January through March 2025, and the press release are available on the Jenoptik website on the Investors / Reports and presentations pages.