JENA, Germany—Carl Zeiss Meditec generated revenue of €368.9 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020/21, ending Dec. 31, 2020. This represents a rebound to the company’s pre-pandemic revenue of €369.7 million in the year-ago period, and a decline of just 0.2 percent, or a 2.6 percent increase when adjusted for currency effects. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) increased to €73.4 million versus €56.8 million in the prior year. The EBIT margin was 19.9 percent versus 15.4 percent year-ago.

“This is a good start to the new fiscal year, particularly in light of the pandemic, which is still ongoing in many markets,” said Dr. Ludwin Monz, president and CEO of Carl Zeiss Meditec AG. “Our diversified portfolio has once again proven to be robust. I am particularly pleased with the strong contributions to growth from the Asia/Pacific region and the good cost discipline within the company, which played a major role in the development of earnings.”

Revenue in Meditec’s Ophthalmic Devices strategic business unit (SBU) totaled €283.4 million in the first quarter versus €269.4 million the prior year, a 5.2 percent increase or 8.2 percent when adjusted for currency effects.

Recurring revenue from consumables, implants and services made significant contributions to growth, according to Meditec. Revenue in the SBU Microsurgery fell by 14.7 percent, or 12.3 adjusted for currency effects, to €85.5 million, compared with €100.3 million in the prior year. On a currency-adjusted basis, orders received in the SBU Microsurgery were already back to the prior year’s level. Meditec said.

Revenue in in the EMEA (Europe Middle East Africa) region decreased slightly by 1.8 percent (adjusted for currency effects: +0.1 percent), to €108.7 million versus €110.7 million a year ago. The trend in the markets of Germany, France and Southern Europe was stable.

The Americas region recorded a mainly currency-related decline in revenue of -6.4 percent (adjusted for currency effects: -0.2 percent) to €102.0m (prior year: €109.0m). On a currency-adjusted basis, the USA almost matched the prior year’s level.

Revenue in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region increased again for the first time since the start of the pandemic, amounting to €158.2 million compared with €150.0 million in the same period of the prior year (+5.5 percent; adjusted for currency effects: +6.6 percent). The strongest contributions to growth were generated in China and South Korea; there was only a slight decline in revenue in Japan.

The operating result (earnings before interest and taxes: EBIT) increased to €73.4 million in the first three months of fiscal year 2020/21 versus €56.8 million in the prior year. Low selling and marketing expenses, in particular, contributed to the increase, Meditec said. The EBIT margin increased to 19.9 percent versus prior 15.4 percent in the prior year. Adjusted for special effects, this resulted in an increase to 19.8 percent versus 15.8 percent year-ago.

Carl Zeiss Meditec said it expects revenue and EBIT to continue to recover over the further course of fiscal year 2020/21 compared with the prior year, which had been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic.