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Carl Zeiss Meditec Sales and earnings further improved in the third quarter


WEBWIRE

Sales increase by 29.1% to € 286.7 million after nine months of the current financial year - EBIT climbs 38.6% to € 34.8 million - Earnings per share up 41.5% to € 0.58 - Operative cash flow grows by more than half to € 21.4 million


JENA/Germany, 14.08.2006. Carl Zeiss Meditec (ISIN DE0005313704) continued its positive growth trend in the first nine months of the current financial year. The medical technology provider, which is listed on the Prime Standard of the German stock exchange, again achieved substantial growth in sales and earnings. Sales in the first nine months rose by 29.1% to € 286.7 million (previous year: € 222.2 million). Carl Zeiss Meditec also further increased its profitability at the same time. EBITDA climbed 40.2% to € 42.4 million (previous year: € 30.3 million). The operating result (EBIT) after nine months was € 34.8 million, which corresponds to an increase of 38.6% year-on-year (previous year: € 25.1 million). Net income for the period also improved significantly, rising 54.5% year-on-year to € 18.9 million (previous year: € 12.2 million). Earnings per share increased to € 0.58 (previous year: € 0.41), corresponding to a growth of 41.5%.

“Carl Zeiss Meditec continued to grow profitably in the first nine months of the current financial year,” said Ulrich Krauss, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. “Once again, our sales grew faster than the market. This growth in sales is also reflected in a disproportionate increase in our operating result. The results achieved confirm that we are successfully turning Carl Zeiss Meditec into a global medical technology solutions provider.”

Carl Zeiss Meditec generated almost two thirds of its sales (66.8%) in the first nine months of the current financial year with innovative diagnostic systems for ophthalmology. Sales in this area amounted to € 191.7 million (previous year: € 153.4 million), corresponding to an increase of 25.0%. The laser and implant business (“Laser and IOL”) also improved significantly in the first nine months. Sales in this segment increased by 46.4% to € 76.3 million (previous year: € 52.1 million). This development is attributable to the strong demand for laser systems and the effects of the IOLTECH acquisition. This segment accounts for 26.6% of total sales. Sales in the Service business segment increased by 12.3% to € 18.7 million (previous year: € 16.6 million). This segment generated 6.5% of Carl Zeiss Meditec’s total sales in the first nine months.

The development in all regions of the world contributed to Carl Zeiss Meditec’s sales growth in the first nine months. With an increase of 42.3%, the highest sales growth in the period under review was achieved in America. Sales revenues here climbed to € 127.0 million (previous year: € 89.3 million). Accounting for 44.3%, America continued to be the region generating the highest volume of sales in the first nine months. Carl Zeiss Meditec’s sales revenues in the “Asia/Pacific” region increased by 14.7% to € 69.3 million (previous year: € 60.4 million). This region thus accounted for 24.2% of Carl Zeiss Meditec’s total sales. Compared to the previous year, Carl Zeiss Meditec achieved sales growth of 29.3% to € 75.4 million (previous year: € 58.3 million) in the region Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The EMEA region accounted for 26.3% of total sales. In Germany, Carl Zeiss Meditec recorded sales of € 15.0 million (previous year: € 14.1 million). This corresponds to 5.2% of total sales.

Carl Zeiss Meditec’s balance sheet continues to be extremely solid. With balance sheet total of € 372.5 million, the equity ratio amounts to 57.9% (30th September 2005: 56.0%). Cash flow from operating activities improved significantly in the first nine months compared to the previous year. At € 21.4 million, it was 53.9% higher than the year-ago figure of € 13.9 million.

“Thanks to our growth and a positive tax effect in the USA, we further improved our net income for the period and simultaneously increased our risk provisioning,” said CFO Bernd Hirsch.

As of 30th June 2006, Carl Zeiss Meditec employed a global workforce of 1,317 (previous year: 1,189).

Carl Zeiss Meditec plans to continue strengthening its sales and earnings also in future. Ulrich Krauss: “We expect our sales for the current financial year, which ends on 30th September 2006, to be about 20% higher than the previous year. We also anticipate an EBIT margin of at least 12%. With regard to the acquisition of Carl Zeiss Surgical, we are optimistic that we can overcome the legal blockade, which a few shareholders are endeavouring to put up, in the foreseeable future, and thus still complete this transaction by the end of 2006.

The aim of the Carl Zeiss Surgical acquisition is to turn Carl Zeiss Meditec into a medical technology company with unique market position in ophthalmology and excellent prospects in the growth market of neuro/ear, nose and throat surgery.



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