Jenoptik (JEN) Q1 2026 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Order intake surged 74.4% year-over-year to €356.9 million, driven by major orders in semiconductor and OEM businesses, setting a new record and boosting backlog to €719.2 million.

• Revenue was €241.2 million, down 1% year-over-year, but would have been up 2% excluding FX effects; profitability improved with EBITDA up 22.5% to €44.4 million and margin rising to 18.4%.

• Earnings per share rose to €0.29 from €0.16, and net profit after taxes increased to €16.8 million.

• Free cash flow declined to €15.9 million due to higher working capital needs from accelerating order intake and inventory build-up.

• Financial position remains strong with net debt reduced to €313.0 million and equity ratio at 60.4%.

Financial highlights

• Book-to-bill ratio rose sharply to 1.48; order backlog increased to €719.2 million.

• Gross margin improved to 35.4% from 30.9% year-over-year, driven by lower cost base and strong semiconductor business.

• EBIT margin improved to 10.7% from 6.9% in Q1.

• Functional cost ratio at 24.7%, R&D expense ratio at 6.7%, and leverage (net debt/EBITDA) stable at 1.6x.

• Working capital ratio increased to 31.8% from 29.1% at year-end 2025.

Outlook and guidance

• FY 2026 revenue expected to grow at a single-digit percentage rate versus prior year (€1,046.0 million), with EBITDA margin guidance set at 19.0–21.0%.

• CapEx for 2026 expected to be slightly below last year’s €77.4 million; major capacity expansion in Jena to come online in 2027.

• Guidance assumes stable political and economic conditions; management does not expect Q1's high order intake to persist.

• Outlook remains cautious due to macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties.