Following Jenoptik's publication of the preliminary figures for the 2019 fiscal year in February, the official figures are now being submitted: At 855.2 million euros sales were up 2.5 percent on the previous year. The momentum increased in the course of the year, with the fourth quarter, as expected, being the strongest in terms of sales at 259.5 million euros (plus 7.6 percent compared with the previous year). The greatest growth impetus came from the Light & Optics and Light & Production divisions.

The solid business development was driven in particular by the high demand from the semiconductor industry and the good business development in the Automation & Integration segment. The companies acquired in 2018 - Prodomax and the Otto Group - contributed 66.4 million euros to revenue in the past financial year (previous year: 37.0 million euros).

Despite higher costs and expenses, EBITDA in 2019 rose by 5 percent to 134 million euros (5.1 percent more than in the previous year). This is mainly due to the contributions of the acquired companies and positive effects from the first-time application of the international accounting standard IFRS 16.

North America catching up with Europe as main growth region

At regional level, the greatest growth impetus came from abroad, especially from North America. At EUR 246 million (previous year: EUR 244.7 million), Europe remained the region with the highest sales, closely followed by America with EUR 239.7 million (15.4 percent growth year-on-year). Jenoptik therefore generated around 73 percent of sales abroad in the past fiscal year (previous year: 71 percent).

Management Board expects noticeable effects on business from Corona crisis

The extent to which the spread of the coronavirus will affect Jenoptik's business in the current fiscal year cannot yet be reliably estimated. The forecast made by the Executive Board in the annual report is based on the state of knowledge at the time on March 10, 2020 or at the time of publication of the preliminary figures at the beginning of February. This is currently being reviewed. In view of the current situation, the Management Board expects noticeable effects at least in the first half of the year.

In view of the latest developments in connection with the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Company is currently reviewing the feasibility of holding the 2020 Annual General Meeting on the scheduled date and is making payment of the dividend subject to reservation. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board had originally planned to propose a dividend of EUR 0.35 to the shareholders at the Annual General Meeting - the same amount as in the previous year.