Jenoptik lifts sales and profit forecast

10 Nov 2011

Better-than-expected exports and strong demand from the semiconductor and automotive industries forecast to boost profit by 10%.

Germany’s Jenoptik Group has increased its sales and profit estimates for the full year 2011, thanks largely to the performance of its lasers and optical systems segment, and is about to finalize a financial restructure that should form the basis for further medium-term growth, say company officials.

The manufacturer of a huge range of optical components and systems now expects sales to reach €525 million, up €15 million on its previous estimate, while annual profit should be €44 million rather than €40 million.

The lasers and optical systems division has now posted pre-tax earnings of €26.1 million in first nine months of the year, up from €11.3 million over the same period in 2010. Sales from the division totaled €159.2 million, equivalent to a rise of 16% on last year.

Group orders are also up 25% on last year in the first three quarters, despite the impact of a slowdown in orders from semiconductor customers in recent months – and at €477 million, Jenoptik’s backlog is now 34% higher than at the same time last year.

Jenoptik also reported that its lasers and material processing division had seen “clearly higher sales”, putting particular emphasis on strong demand for components used in high-power diode lasers and also for medical laser applications.

The profitability of Jenoptik’s laser and material processing division has also been helped by the recent management buy-out of Innovavent, which specializes in lasers and optical systems used in semiconductor wafer and flat-panel display production, including laser annealing, crystallization and dopant activation. Innovavent will now buy lasers and lenses from Jenoptik, while the two will collaborate on systems design.

Commenting on the business environment for the rest of this year, Jenoptik described the outlook in the semiconductor sector as “gloomy”, with overall semiconductor equipment sales expected to fall by 15-30% sequentially.

€90 million note; financial restructure
Just last month, Jenoptik successfully placed a promissory note in the sum of €90 million, while before the end of this year the company will fully restructure its entire financing. The size of the note was increased from original €50 million because of high demand, according to Jenoptik CFO Frank Einhellinger.

“The high level of interest expressed by domestic and foreign investors showed that the market has great confidence in our company, both in terms of the operational business as well as from the financing side,” he said. The proceeds from the transaction will be used to repay guaranteed loans and replace other loans.

“The basic financing of the operating business has been secured for the medium term and with our sound financial key indicators we will be able to continue pursuing our growth targets,” said the company’s chairman, Michael Mertin.