Publication of insider information pursuant to Art. 17 MAR

Jena, Germany | June 17, 2024 | Carl Zeiss Meditec AG

In the first 8 months of fiscal year (FY) 2023/24 as of May 31, 2024, excluding the contribution from the acquisition of Dutch Ophthalmic Research Center B.V. (DORC), Carl Zeiss Meditec AG (ISIN: DE0005313704) had preliminary revenue of € 1,258 million (prior year: € 1,297 million, -3%). Preliminary operating profit (EBIT) amounted to € 135 million (prior year: € 183 million, -26%), excluding the contribution from the acquisition of DORC as well as integration cost related to the acquisition. In the combined months of April and May 2024, order entry, revenue and EBIT continued to fall short of the previous year’s level. As a consequence of the continued slow business development, the previous forecast for FY 2023/24 is lowered: Revenue is now expected to reach around € 2,000 million, excluding the contribution from the acquisition of DORC, which continues to be estimated at an additional € 100 million for the second half of the fiscal year (previous target: € 2,100 - € 2,150 million, excluding DORC). Due mainly to the resulting lack of positive operating leverage from weaker overall revenue assumptions, as well as more cautious assumptions for consumables sales in the second half of the current fiscal year, leading to a weaker product mix, EBIT (excluding effects related to the DORC acquisition) will fall significantly short of the previously stated target of a comparable level to last year (€ 348.1 million) and reach a level between around € 215 million up to around € 265 million.

Soft development of order entry and revenue continues to be mainly driven by the equipment business, suffering from a restrictive investment climate among key customer groups, particularly in North America. In addition, the important peak season for refractive surgeries in China is off to a slow start, with consumables orders in the country trailing the past year’s figures during the third quarter so far. The slower than anticipated roll-out of national volume-based procurement for intraocular lenses in China is also causing an additional headwind to revenue and EBIT.

Management is taking further measures to reduce operating expenses to adjust to the weaker market environment, predominantly in sales & marketing as well as research & development. A further update will be provided with Q3 2023/24 results on August 6, 2024.

Carl Zeiss Meditec is targeting renewed growth for the upcoming fiscal year 2024/25, supported by the launch of innovative new products into key markets in both strategic business units. In the mid-term, the goals of growing at least as fast as the underlying markets as well as reaching an EBIT margin level sustainably above 20% remain unchanged.

The quarterly statement for 9M 2023/24 will be published on August 6, 2024.