In the first annual sales results posted since the merger between Carl Zeiss and Asclepion-Meditec AG, optical products group Carl Zeiss Meditec AG said 17 December 2002 that sales for the fiscal year…
In the first annual sales results posted since the merger between Carl Zeiss and Asclepion-Meditec AG, optical products group Carl Zeiss Meditec AG said 17 December 2002 that sales for the fiscal year ended 30 September 2002 rose by 6% to EUR 204.6 ( previous year EUR 193.3 million). Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization were down from EUR 13.7 million for 2000/2001 to EUR 8.4 million for 2001/2002. “We have completed the integration process and prepared the groundwork for a successful future for the company,” said Ulrich Krauss, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec. “The fact that we were able to increase our sales in such a difficult economic climate is a clear success.” Synergies arising from the merger will start to impact positively on the result from as early as the first quarter of the new 2002/2003 financial year. They will be clearly visible in the second quarter. Krauss pointed to three key figures which in his view illustrated the healthy state of the company: cash-flow from operating activities rose in the financial year 2001/2002 to EUR 22.7 million from EUR 0.8 million in 2000/2001. Liquidity more than tripled from EUR 2.1 million in 2000/2001 to EUR 7.2 million in 2001/2002. The equity ratio rose to 49 percent for 2001/2002, up from 23 % in 2000/2001. Carl Zeiss Meditec posted over 98 percent of its sales in its core business, the selling and servicing of devices for the diagnosis and therapy of eye disorders. Europe accounted for just under 26 percent of Carl Zeiss Meditec“s sales, with Germany taking a third of this. America accounted for a further 59 percent of the group sales. The company posted 15 percent of its sales in Asia, Australia and Africa. There have also been changes in the ownership structure. DEWB (Deutsche Effecten- und Wechsel-Beteiligungsgesellschaft) AG, Jena, announced that it has sold its share in the company“s share capital. The total of 2.4 million shares (representing 9 percent of the share capital) were sold to institutional investors. Back in the summer of 2002 DEWB announced its intention to sell its shares before the end of the year. Regarding the sale of the shares, Dr. Michael Kaschke, member of the Carl Zeiss Management Board and chairman of the Supervisory Board as a representative of the major shareholder in Carl Zeiss Meditec, said, “In our opinion DEWB“s move which has been announced for some time is consistent and logical. Through the merger, Carl Zeiss Meditec has acquired a new scale.” Kaschke continued, “Therefore, the sale of shares also represents an important step in view of the reorganisation of the German stock market and of our goal to achieve an attractive free float of 40 percent.”