Foreword by the Executive Board

I would like to take this opportunity to express my special thanks to all ZEISS employees, whose commitment, ideas and passion made this success possible. The innovations of all four segments are at the cutting edge of their markets. ZEISS develops solutions for semiconductor manufacturing technology which allows chip manufacturers all over the world to produce ever smaller, more powerful and more energy-efficient microchips. From vision care and photography through to microscopy, metrology, and medical technology, ZEISS develops solutions that are in demand the world over. With its EUV (extreme ultraviolet) technology, the ZEISS Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology segment has already made a leap in innovation for the production of microchips. The ZEISS segments Industrial Quality & Research and Medical Technology also continued to grow in the past fiscal year. The Consumer Markets segment achieved slight growth despite the challenging market environment.

The general economic environment deteriorated noticeably, particularly in Europe and parts of Asia. Although growth was initially spurred by the US, it also saw its business climate grow increasingly gloomy in the second half of the year. At the same time, the situation on the procurement markets has largely stabilized.

However, both in terms of revenue and innovation, the ZEISS Group as a whole grew during this period because we seized opportunities early on and continued to invest in expanding our workforce and infrastructure. This growth was not equally strong in all ZEISS segments and certainly was not a given. As a Group, we have demonstrated that we are resilient and flexible even in turbulent times. And we owe this achievement to our strategies and technologies as well as to the people at ZEISS.

Innovation is in our DNA. Over many decades, innovation has made ZEISS what it is today: a global leader in optics and high-tech solutions that is both robust and competitive. Innovation and transformation are crucial to remaining competitive in the long term. That is why we are investing more than ever in innovation and our strategic transformation into a data- and process-driven company.

At 15 percent of revenue, ZEISS spent a record 1.5 billion euros on research and development in the past fiscal year. In the ZEISS Group’s research and development departments, more than 7,000 employees work every day to further expand our innovative strength. This is reflected in our many patents: as of the reporting date, we held around 12,500 patents worldwide. Our investment in research and development not only secures our position as a technology leader, but also paves the way for sustainable growth and long-term success.

Alongside innovative products and economic indicators, it is the values that we live by every day that define us as a company: respect, openness and diversity. They are what unites more than ZEISS 46,000 employees across the globe. People from 140 different nations work together at our sites around the world. And it is this diversity that is at the heart of our innovative strength. It is a source of fresh ideas, different perspectives and an immeasurable wealth of experience. ZEISS supports people regardless of their origin, culture or beliefs. Extremism of any kind has no place at ZEISS.

Geopolitical tensions and a weaker global economy will presumably continue to affect ZEISS going forward. Resilience, transformation and innovation therefore have a crucial role to play: the transformation to a data- and process-driven organization will continue, as will our strong focus on innovation. The overarching objective is to build resilience against external impacts during these tough times by pooling resources and thus offsetting fluctuations in individual segments.

ZEISS stands on solid foundations: our technologies are among the best in the world, our capacity for innovation is undiminished and we have a team that is passionately committed to our collective success.

Let’s remain open to new ideas and support each other. In this vein, I will be handing over the position of President and CEO to Andreas Pecher, an experienced ZEISS Executive Board member, as planned in April 2025. I am convinced that with Andreas and the entire Executive Board team, ZEISS is in very good hands and will continue to go from strength to strength.