Jenoptik posts ‘double-digit’ earnings growth in first half of 2024

09 Aug 2024

Substantial increase in H1 revenue to to €540.8 million, but order intake still below prior-year level.

Diversified photonics technologies company Jenoptik has, this week, reported “double-digit” earnings growth for the first six months’ trading of 2024. Its announcement stated that there has been a “substantial increase in revenue and pre-tax earnings.” However order intake remained below the prior-year level (H1, 2023).

“Jenoptik performed very well in an overall challenging market environment. After a slow start, demand improved in the second quarter, and we achieved substantial revenue and earnings growth in the first six months. We expect this demand to continue in the second half of the year. Based on this, we confirm our guidance for 2024,” commented Stefan Traeger, President & CEO.

The company, headquartered in Jena, Germany, continued on its course of growth in the first half of 2024, with revenue up by 7.1 percent to €540.8 million (prior year: €504.9 M), driven by the Advanced Photonic Solutions division and the Non-Photonic Portfolio Companies.

In Europe (including Germany), Jenoptik recorded significant growth of 18.9 percent, while revenue in the Americas and Asia/Pacific did not reach the prior year’s levels. Overall, 70.7 percent of revenue was generated abroad (prior year: 75.2 percent).

The Group’s pre-tax earnings EBITDA again grew faster than revenue, mainly due to the strong development of the Non-Photonic Portfolio Companies, but also a good performance of the Advanced Photonic Solutions division, and at €101.4 M was 10.7 percent up on the prior-year figure of €91.6 M.

Rise in demand in Q2

As expected, Jenoptik saw a pickup in demand in Q2, 2024, with an increase in order intake of 7.0 percent year-over-year. However, the order intake for the first half-year, amounting to €524.4 M, was still slightly below the prior year’s €546.9 M.

While demand in the semiconductor equipment business continued to be robust, it remained subdued in Optical Test & Measurement, some cyclical applications in life science & medical technology, and at the Non-Photonic Portfolio Companies, the latter due to project delays in the first quarter. The Group’s book-to-bill ratio came to 0.97 (prior year: 1.08). The order backlog of €734.1M remained at what the company called “a solid level”; at the end of 2023 it was €745.0 M.

Division performance

The Advanced Photonic Solutions division saw revenue increasing by 8.2 percent to €422.0 M. In particular, business with the semiconductor equipment industry saw significant growth in the first six months of 2024. The division’s EBITDA margin was 20.3 percent, compared with 21.8 percent in the prior year.

Order intake came in at €415.8M, slightly down on the prior year’s €422.4 M, impacted by weaker demand in Optical Test & Measurement and some life science & medical technology applications.

In the first half-year, the Smart Mobility Solutions division posted revenue of €52.4 M, down from the strong prior year’s €54.7 M. EBITDA came to €3.2 M (prior year: €4.4 M). Order intake amounted to €63.3 M (prior year: €62.5 M).

Guidance for 2024 confirmed

Despite a challenging general market environment, the Executive Board stated that it “expects to achieve further profitable growth in the fiscal year 2024, given the continued strong order backlog and the Group’s strong position in its core markets. In the second half of the year, a further improvement in demand is anticipated.”

”Revenue growth will be in the mid-single-digit percentage range in 2024 (2023: €1,066.0 M) and an EBITDA margin of 19.5 to 20.0 percent (2023: 19.7 percent), including an expected impact of approximately 0.5 percentage points for the relocation to the new semiconductor site in Dresden. Capital expenditure is expected to be slightly above the prior-year level of €110.4 M,” it stated.