Jenoptik Group revenue rose sharply in the first quarter
Group revenue grew by 16.0% to EUR 189.9 million; EBITDA improved by 55.9% to EUR 27.7 million, EBIT almost doubled to EUR 20.8 million, Executive Board confirms 2018 guidance based on current business performance.
“We made a good start into the new fiscal year, as planned. Over the first quarter of 2018 we continued the successful business development seen in prior quarters. With growth in all regions, each of our three business segments reported improved earnings,” says Dr. Stefan Traeger, President & CEO of Jenoptik AG.
Group revenue rose sharply to EUR 189.9 million (prior year: EUR 163.7 million). Growth was seen in the Optics & Life Science and Mobility segments thanks to continuing strong demand for optical systems for the semiconductor equipment industry and systems from the Healthcare & Industry area. Scheduled deliveries of toll monitoring pillars in the Traffic Solutions area also significantly contributed to revenue growth. This was reflected in particular in the increase in revenue in Germany. From a regional perspective, Jenoptik grew on all the international markets. Revenue in the two growth regions of the Americas and Asia/Pacific rose to EUR 61.2 million (prior year: EUR 56.6 million). In total, Jenoptik generated 67.8% abroad, once again more than two thirds of group revenue (prior year: 68.6%).
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) also increased by 55.9% to EUR 27.7 million (prior year: EUR 17.8 million). The EBITDA margin improved to 14.6% (prior year 10.9%). In the first three months of 2018, the operating result also outperformed the rise in revenue. At EUR 20.8 million, EBIT was 88.7% up on the prior year (prior year: EUR 11.0 million), with all three segments contributing to this growth. Higher revenue and significantly reduced administrative expenses were, among others, reasons for the noticeable improvement in earnings. In the prior year higher expenses in connection with the change on the Executive Board as well as unplanned development costs for the toll monitoring pillar affected the result. The EBIT margin improved from 6.7 to 11.0%.
In the reporting period, the Jenoptik Group’s order intake, at EUR 199.2 million, did not reach the high value seen in the prior year (prior year: EUR 221.3 million), but exceeded the revenue of the quarter by EUR 9.3 million. The book-to-bill ratio, that of order intake to revenue, came to 1.05, compared with 1.35 in the prior year. In the first quarter of 2017, Jenoptik had received several major contracts, particularly in the Defense & Civil Systems segment, which contributed to the sharp rise in order figures. At EUR 453 million, the order backlog remained at the 2017 year-end level (31/12/2017: EUR 453.5 million). There were also frame contracts (in part framework agreements with customers) worth EUR 82.0 million (31/12/2017: EUR 87.6 million).
Due to improved earnings and lower capital expenditure than in the prior year, the free cash flow rose to EUR 13.3 million (prior year: EUR 10.2 million).
In the first three months of 2018, the Optics & Life Science segment generated revenue of EUR 68.8 million, an increase of 16.6% (prior year: EUR 59.0 million). This performance was driven by continuing strong demand for solutions for the semiconductor equipment industry and sales growth in the Healthcare & Industry area. Based on this good business development, EBIT improved significantly, by 45.1% to EUR 14.1 million (prior year: EUR 9.7 million). Over the three-month period, the segment thus increased its EBIT margin to 20.5% compared to the prior-year figure of 16.5%. The order intake grew by 12.9% to EUR 87.1 million (prior year: EUR 77.1 million). Set against revenue, this results in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.27 (prior year: 1.31). At the end of March 2018, the order backlog in the segment was worth EUR 124.0 million (31/12/2017: EUR 109.1 million).
In the first three months of 2018, revenue in the Mobility segment grew 31.9% on the prior-year quarter, to EUR 72.3 million (prior year: EUR 54.8 million). Both areas, applications for the automotive industry and traffic safety technology, contributed to the successful performance. Scheduled deliveries of toll monitoring pillars significantly boosted growth. Due to the good development of revenue, the segment has now returned to stronger profitability, and posted EBIT of EUR 6.1 million (prior year: EUR 0.9 million). The EBIT margin consequently improved to 8.4% (prior year: 1.7%). As the order intake in the Mobility segment was below the level of revenue in the period covered by the report, the book-to-bill ratio reached a figure of 0.95 (prior year: 1.36). At EUR 68.7 million, the order intake was down on the prior year predominantly due to the development in the Traffic Solutions area (prior year: EUR 74.5 million). At the end of the first quarter, the order backlog was worth EUR 140.7 million (31/12/2017: EUR 144.7 million).
In the first three months, the Defense & Civil Systems segment generated revenue of EUR 49.7 million, which as expected was at the prior-year level (prior year: EUR 50.2 million). Despite this virtually unchanged revenue, EBIT rose slightly to EUR 3.8 million (prior year: EUR 3.2 million), primarily due to a more profitable product mix. The EBIT margin accordingly improved to 7.7% (prior year: 6.3%). At EUR 44.1 million, the order intake was 36.8% lower than the prior-year figure of EUR 69.8 million. Especially in the first quarter of 2017 Jenoptik had received several major orders. An improvement in the order intake is, however, expected in the further course of the year. The book-to-bill ratio fell to 0.89 from 1.39 in the prior year. The value of the order backlog consequently also declined, by EUR 11.6 million to EUR 191.0 million (31/12/2017: EUR 202.6 million).
Following the expected good business performance in the first quarter of 2018, the Executive Board has confirmed its guidance for the current fiscal year. Alongside a current high level of demand from the semiconductor equipment industry, deliveries of toll monitoring pillars will be made mainly in the first half-year 2018. For the full year, the Executive Board is therefore still expecting revenue growth to between EUR 790 and 810 million. In fiscal year 2018 the EBIT margin is projected to be in a range between 10.5 to 11.0%, the EBITDA margin between 14.5 and 15.0%.