Carl Zeiss Meditec disclosed its nine-month results on Thursday, reporting revenue of €1.55 billion, a 2.9% decline compared with the prior-year period. The company said the revenue decrease is effectively neutral when currency effects are stripped out.
Profitability compression
The group recorded an adjusted EBITA margin of 8.0% for the nine-month period, down from 11.1% a year earlier. Management attributed the margin deterioration primarily to negative currency effects and reduced sales of consumables.
Segment performance
Within the ophthalmology segment, revenue fell. The company pointed to weaker demand in China and the removal of an intraocular lens product from a procurement tender as primary factors. That withdrawal included the removal of a bifocal lens from a tender process, which prompted related inventory returns and weakened the intraocular lens business in China.
The refractive laser business also contracted, with the company citing lower procedure volumes and a softer investment environment for equipment, particularly across the Asia-Pacific region. In contrast, the microsurgery unit recorded growth, supported by robust deliveries of neurosurgical operating microscopes.
Outlook and one-off items
For fiscal year 2025/26, Carl Zeiss Meditec reiterated its revenue expectation in a range of around €2.15 billion to €2.20 billion. The company also reiterated guidance for an adjusted EBITA margin between 8% and 10% for the full year.
Separately, the company said it expects to recognise an impairment of goodwill of approximately €150 million in its Ophthalmology strategic business unit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2025/26.
Context and implications
The nine-month figures highlight a mix of regional and product-specific pressures - notably in China and the broader Asia-Pacific market - alongside continued strength in select surgical equipment deliveries. Management has preserved its full-year revenue and margin range while preparing to record a significant goodwill impairment tied to the ophthalmology unit in the coming quarter.