27 May 2025
Optics giant says economic uncertainty may also result in overtime reductions and shorter working hours.
Zeiss, one of the world’s largest optics companies, says it will continue to double-down on its investment into research and development work amid current economic uncertainty - although it has also raised the prospect of job cuts.
In the Oberkochen, Germany, firm’s latest half-yearly financial update, new CEO Andreas Pecher reported sales of €5.8 billion for the six months ending March 31 - up 9 per cent year-on-year.
But Pecher also warned that incoming orders were down, and that this would impact sales and profits in the second half of the company’s financial year.
Last December Zeiss had said it was anticipating a “moderate” increase in annual sales from the record-breaking total of €10.9 billion it reported for 2023-2024, but any further uptick this year now looks to be in doubt.
“Zeiss too is feeling the effects of the weaker global economic situation and increasing uncertainty in the markets," said Pecher in a company release.
"The fiscal year got off to a significantly more subdued start than in the last few years. Now, it's all the more important to further strengthen the company's resilience and invest prudently in the future by continuing to invest heavily in research and development, for example."
‘Customer reticence’
Zeiss’ figures showed that, once again, it was the firm’s semiconductor manufacturing technology (SMT) division that drove growth in recent months, with its sales revenues of €2.47 billion up 22 per cent year-on-year.
That rise is fueled in part by strong demand for the ultra-high-specification reflective optics that Zeiss produces for key partner ASML’s giant extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines, which are critical for patterning the world’s most advanced silicon chips.
But the other three Zeiss divisions all reported much slower growth, with “medical technology” up 4 per cent to €1.27 billion, “industrial quality and research” down slightly to €1.17 billion, and “consumer markets” up 2 per cent to €774 million.
“The overall result of the Zeiss Group is robust, however global economic developments are clearly evident in certain markets and therefore also in certain segments,” announced the company.
“After the first six months of the current fiscal year, uncertainty and consumer reticence has become apparent among both end consumers and business customers.”
CFO Stefan Müller commented: "We are responding to this with prudence and taking targeted action. The results show that the resilience measures are working.”
The latest figures saw Zeiss post earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of €923 million, up from €739 million this time last year. That is despite a 4 per cent uptick in employee numbers, which now total 46,555.
Müller also said that the current geopolitical and economic uncertainty was having a different impact on each of the firm’s specific market areas, meaning that there was no single solution or action for the company to take.
Among the measures taken so far are structural and process improvements and what the Zeiss team called “making use of optimization potential in infrastructure projects”.
The firm added: “This may also include capacities being adjusted - temporarily by reducing overtime accounts or introducing short-time working hours, or permanently by removing a limited number of jobs.”
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