Ad-hoc | 30 August 2000 08:35

Ad hoc-Service: Jenoptik AG HJ 2000

Ad-hoc announcement sent by DGAP. The sender is solely responsible for the contents of this announcement. —————————————————————————— Jenoptik Group once again raises its forecast for the 2000 net income. Consolidated net income, at 47 million Euros, reaches a new record high in the first half of 2000. Order backlog exceeds the two billion Euro mark for the very first time. Order intake also reaches record new levels. The Jenoptik Group (security code no. 622910) is continuing on its successful course in the 2000 business year. “We are raising our forecast net income once again”, announced Jenoptik chairman Lothar Späth. According to him the consolidated net income for the 2000 business year will not be 50 percent but 150 percent up on the figure for 1999. This figure includes the income from the sale of own shares in the sum of 32 million Euros. Excluding this sale the Jenoptik Group will clearly achieve the 50 percent increase in net income in operational terms. At 47 million Euros (in the previous year: -22 million Euros) in the first half of 2000 the technology group recorded a record net income. The Jenoptik Group also posted record levels of order intake and order backlog. The order intake rose by 20 percent to 1,339 million Euros (in the previous year: 1,114 million Euros). On a comparable basis new orders actually increased by 43 percent. The Jenoptik Group broke through the two billion Euro barrier for the order backlog for the very first time. The order backlog rose by 39 percent to 2,145 million Euros (in the previous year: 1,548 million Euros). On a comparable basis it climbed even further higher to 47.1 percent. Sales of the Jenoptik Groups at 463.7 million Euros are down on the comparable figure for the previous year (in the previous year: 655.6 million Euros). The fall can be attributed to the settlement of three major projects in the Clean Systems business division in the previous business year as at 30th June 1999. In terms of the internal figures the Clean Systems Business Area is precisely on target and, as announced, will exceed the previous year’s sales. Consequently the sales figure for the first half of 2000 can not be extrapolated for the whole year. According to the words of Späth nothing has changed in the excellent progress achieved by the Jenoptik Group in the current business year. “The dynamic of the markets in which we operate continues uninterrupted.” Jenoptik Group raises its forecast for the net income. This is the reason why Jenoptik is once again raising its forecast for the net income for the current 2000 business year. Sales are anticipated to rise by 15 percent on a comparable basis. Späth stated that sales in the Clean Systems business division will increase in the 2000 business year by 15 percent compared with the previous year and the operating result will also be significantly higher. With the acquisition of the remaining shares in Life Science Meissner+Wurst GmbH the strategic position in the area of biotechnology and pharmaceuticals has been considerably improved. M+W Zander will be further expanding its engineering capacities as a result of its excellent level of new orders. The Clean Systems business division again records a high order intake in the third quarter. In August this year, M+W Zander has been awarded, together with its Israeli joint venture Meissner Baran a major order for the construction of a chip fab from the Israeli semiconductor manufacturer Tower Semiconductor Ltd. The order is worth more than 200 million Euros. With this order, Clean Systems reports an order intake of two billion Euros. The Photonics business division will be commissioning the new optics production building into operation in Jena in September 2000. This will double the production capacities in the optics area which in turn is likely to have a positive effect on sales and the result in this current year. With the new building the conditions have been created which are required for further growth in order to meet the rapidly increasing demand in the optics area said Späth. The 2000 business year will be a record year for the Photonics business division in every respect. There will in fact be a slightly stronger increase in sales than previously anticipated and they should pass the previously forecast 200 to 210 million Euro figure. In the Asset Management business division DEWB finally established itself in the 2000 business year as one of the successful VC companies in Germany. This position will be further consolidated and expanded in the coming months. DEWB’s impressive performance will enable it to achieve a higher contribution to profits in 2000 than it did in 1999. Contact: Steffen Schneider Communication and Investor Relations Deutsche Effecten- und Wechsel-Beteiligungsgesellschaft AG Telephone: ++49 – 3641 – 652290 Telefax: ++49 – 3641 – 652157 Steffen.Schneider@dewb-vc.com End of Message