Sales in the 1st quarter 2011 increased by 16.5 percent compared with the same period in the previous year to 124.5 million euros (prev. year 106.9 million euros). Jenoptik reported a jump in the Group EBIT to 11.8 million euros as against 3.4 million euros in the previous year-s quarter. The growth in sales and the significantly stronger rise in earnings were attributable primarily to the high level of sales generated by the Lasers & Optical Systems segment with the semiconductor industry, as well as to strong growth in sales by the Metrology segment thanks to the continuing high level of demand from the automotive industry. In the 1st quarter Jenoptik achieved an EBIT margin of 9.5 percent. As a result of the high Group EBIT and an improvement in the net financial result, earnings before tax rose to 9.3 million euros (prev. year 0.0 million euros), earnings after tax totaled 7.5 million euros (prev. year minus 0.3 million euros).
“High order intakes and major individual orders, more efficient structures, improved production processes and a continuation of the positive development of the economy are all having a positive impact. In particular our focus on Asian core regions, the expansion of the global distribution as well as the investments we made in the structure and expansion of the US business are supporting this,” said Jenoptik Chairman Dr. Michael Mertin at the publication of the quarterly figures.
Order intake records an increase of 36.4 percent over the previous year and is significantly higher than sales in the 1st quarter.
The order intake in the 1st quarter 2011 was 172.6 million euros (prev. year 126.5 million euros). It exceeded the figure for the same quarter in the previous year by 36.4 percent and was in absolute terms also 48.1 million euros above the high level of sales. This led to a book-to-bill ratio of 1.39. The order backlog increased accordingly by 12.0 percent to 398.1 million euros (31.12.2010: 355.4 million euros). The order intake includes the major partial order for the PUMA armored fighting vehicle worth just under 40 million euros in the Defense & Civil Systems segment. Another major partial order is expected in the next months.
The major order of the Traffic Solutions division of more than 20 million euros from Saudi Arabia published today will also impact on the order intake in the current 2nd quarter 2011. Several hundred stationary systems for recording traffic light and speed violations will be delivered and installed through this year and the next. As a result, the order will in part contribute to sales and earnings already in 2011.
Further improvement in earnings and financial key indicators in the 1st quarter 2011. Number of employees remained constant.
“In the 1st quarter we further improved the key financial indicators. In addition to another marked positive cash flow from operating activities there was a further reduction in net debt,” said CFO Frank Einhellinger in summary.
As a result of the expansion of business, cost of sales came in at 80.3 million euros (prev. year 75.3 million euros). However, the 6.9 percent rise was at a markedly lower rate in proportion to the 16.5 percent growth in sales.
Thanks to the strong improvement in the earnings before tax, cash flow from operating activities reached 12.4 million euros (prev. year 1.6 million euros). The profit reported in the 1st quarter 2011 increased the shareholders- equity to 290.1 million euros (31.12.2010: 282.5 million euros). This led to a small rise in the shareholders- equity quota to 45.1 percent (31.12.2010: 44.9 percent) despite the slight increase in the balance sheet total.
Net debt fell further in the 1st quarter 2011. Following the significant reduction in the 4th quarter 2010 to 79.3 million euros at the end of 2010, it fell by a further 7.3 percent as at the end of the 1st quarter 2011 to 73.5 million euros.
The number of employees in the Jenoptik Group remained virtually constant at 2,956 compared with the end of 2010 (31.12.2010: 2,951). The increase in sales was therefore achieved with the same headcount; sales per employee rose significantly.
Information on the three segments of the Jenoptik Group.
The Lasers & Optical Systems segment saw a continuation of the positive development. The Optical Systems division generated increased sales with the semiconductor industry reflecting the currently very high level within the sector cycle. The Lasers & Material Processing division also reported an increase in the Lasers business unit. The segment increased sales by 24.1 percent to 56.1 million euros (prev. year 45.2 million euros), posting a segment EBIT of 10.2 million euros (prev. year 3.9 million euros). There was a continuation of the positive development in the order book situation with an 8.7 percent rise in the order intake to 61.1 million euros (prev. year 56.2 million euros). In addition to the continuing high level of demand from the semiconductor industry there was a rise in the demand for laser processing systems. The medical laser area also continued to deliver a positive performance. The segment-s order backlog, which rose by 2.8 percent to 101.6 million euros, only includes the long-term supply contract for the automotive supplier Magna on a pro rata basis.
The Metrology segment increased sales by 40 percent to 28.0 million euros (prev. year 20 million euros). The growth was primarily attributable to the Industrial Metrology division in which the continuing high level of demand from the automotive industry is now being reflected in the sales and which consequently was also making a key contribution to the increase in EBIT. The segment EBIT totaled 1.0 million euros in the 1st quarter (prev. year minus 1.0 million euros). The settlement of major orders is becoming an increasingly characteristic feature of the business in the Traffic Solutions division, with no major order having been settled in the 1st quarter 2011. The segment reported an order intake of 38.0 million euros, just below the level for the previous year (prev. year 40.4 million euros) although that figure was characterized by a major order for the Traffic Solutions division in excess of 12 million euros. As a result of the increase in the order intake compared with the level of sales, the order backlog rose to 51.9 million euros (prev. year 45.1 million euros).
The Defense & Civil Systems segment continued to report a stable performance. At 40.0 million euros sales were almost at the same level as in the previous year (prev. year 41.6 million euros). The segment increased its EBIT to 1.1 million euros as the result of cost savings and a change in the sales mix (prev. year 1.0 million euros). The high order intake posted by the segment was significantly influenced by the partial order for the PUMA armored fighting vehicle for nearly 40 million euros and therefore rose to 73.7 million euros (prev. year 29.7 million euros). There was also a corresponding sharp increase in the order backlog which totaled 246.4 million euros as at the end of the 1st quarter (31.12.2010: 212.2 million euros).
Outlook for the current fiscal year: on the earnings side Jenoptik expects to report its best year in terms of the operating business in the company-s recent history.
The Group anticipates a continuation of the positive performance in the current fiscal year, particularly in its sales with the automotive and semiconductor industries. Deliveries to the semiconductor industry in the 1st quarter 2011 reflect for Jenoptik the currently very high level within the sector cycle, consequently the results of the 1st quarter cannot be projected for the full year. Here Jenoptik expects a normalization of business during the further course of the year.
As a result of the very good 1st quarter 2011, Jenoptik raised its EBIT forecast from the original 35 to the new figure of 40 million euros last Monday. This reflects an improvement of more than 35 percent compared with the previous year-s figure of 29.0 million euros. Sales in 2011 are forecast to be at least 510 million euros and, as such, fully compensate for the sales of Jena-Optronik GmbH which was sold in December 2010.
“We expect this year to be the strongest for operating earnings since the disposal of M+W Zander five years ago. The quality of the results testifies to the fact that we are able to achieve our long-term profitability targets,” said the Jenoptik Chairman.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login