Jenoptik AG

Jenoptik said H1 2026 revenue rose 1% year over year, or close to 3% excluding currency effects, with EBITDA around EUR 99 million, up a little more than 25%, and EBITDA margin improving by almost 400 bps. EBIT increased 56% year over year to a 12.3% margin, and EPS was EUR 0.69 versus EUR 0.42 last year. Gross margin was considerably higher year over year, helped by a lower cost base and a higher contribution from semi. For the full year, the company now expects revenue growth of 5% to 9% and EBITDA margin of 20% to 21%, with CapEx still expected to be slightly below last year. Management also said it expects the working capital ratio to trend slightly above 2025 levels in H2, and that free cash flow was slightly up year over year in H1 due to lower investing cash outflow.

New CEO Dominic Dorfner focused on introduction and strategy rather than detailed operating commentary. He said he was impressed by Jenoptik's people and technologies, and described photonics as an attractive industry with significant growth potential. He also said the company is in a strategy process update and key findings are expected toward the end of the year at the earliest, so near-term questions on that topic may not be answered in detail.

Prisca Havranek-Kosicek said H1 performance was driven by strong demand in semi, advanced manufacturing, and biophotonics, with order intake up more than 50% year over year and backlog reaching around EUR 825 million. She highlighted EBITDA of around EUR 99 million, margin improvement of almost 400 bps, EBIT margin of 12.3%, and EPS of EUR 0.69. On cash flow, she said operating cash flow was pressured by higher working capital needs as the company prioritized customer delivery, while free cash flow was slightly higher year over year because H1 2025 included significant cash outflows for the new Dresden fab. CapEx guidance was unchanged at slightly below last year, and she said the balance sheet remained very robust.

Analysts pressed on whether semi orders were being pulled forward and whether the strong H1 order intake would repeat in H2. Management said the biophotonics business, especially defense and medtech/life science, had more early-order effects and a large medtech order, while semi demand reflected a ramp-up environment rather than a specific pull-forward from H2. Questions also focused on capacity, staffing, and supply chain for Dresden and Jena; management said it can find enough people, is adding machines and headcount as needed, and is not tangibly constrained in the supply chain, though execution remains important. Analysts also asked about Prodomax, Chinese OEM exposure, defense optics, TRIOPTICS, and pricing; management said Prodomax is improving but not yet a trend, does not sell broadly to Chinese semi suppliers by strategic choice, remains constructive on defense growth, sees more industry momentum in optical testing but not a near-term AR/VR order inflection, and would not comment on customer pricing details.