Jenoptik (ETR:JEN) reported a return to revenue growth and a sharp improvement in profitability in the first half of 2026, supported by demand in its semiconductor-focused operations and strong order activity in Biophotonics. The company also raised the specificity of its full-year outlook, forecasting revenue growth toward the upper half of its previous range.
New Chief Executive Officer Dominic Dorfner, who officially joined the company on Aug. 1, said he had begun visiting Jenoptik sites and meeting employees, customers and other stakeholders. He said photonics offers “a lot of growth potential” and that his immediate focus would be listening and gaining a fuller understanding of the business.
Orders and backlog rise sharply
Dr. Prisca Havranek-Kosicek said group order intake rose by more than 50% year over year in the first half, exceeding management’s expectations. The increase was led by Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing and Biophotonics, lifting the group’s book-to-bill ratio to 1.4 and expanding the order backlog to about €825 million.
Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing benefited from demand in lithography and continued customer activity in semiconductor inspection. While second-quarter orders were below the first-quarter level, management noted that the first quarter had included a large annual order.
Management said the semiconductor industry ramp-up remains in full swing, though it cautioned that the exceptionally strong order levels recorded in the first half should not necessarily be expected to continue at the same level in the next two quarters. Havranek-Kosicek said some semiconductor customers may place orders in part to secure capacity during the industry ramp-up, but she did not characterize this as a specific pull-forward of orders from the second half.
Biophotonics order intake increased 45% year over year in the first half. The business benefited from strong demand in defense-related markets and a multi-year MedTech order in the low double-digit-million-euro range. Management said the large MedTech order was not related to life sciences or dentistry, but did not provide further details because of its concentrated key-account customer base.
Havranek-Kosicek said some early-order effects tied to geopolitical uncertainty were seen mainly in Biophotonics, including defense, life sciences and MedTech. She also cautioned that quarterly order intake in the unit can be volatile because defense orders can be concentrated and multi-year in nature.
- Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing order activity was driven by lithography and inspection.
- Biophotonics demand was aided by defense applications and the large MedTech order.
- Metrology & Production Solutions and Smart Mobility Solutions each posted low-double-digit order-intake growth.
Revenue returns to growth; margins expand
Group revenue increased 1% year over year in the first half after the company returned to growth in the second quarter. Excluding currency effects, particularly euro-dollar exchange-rate fluctuations, revenue would have risen by nearly 3%, Havranek-Kosicek said.
Revenue in Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing increased about 10%, reflecting growth in lithography and semiconductor inspection. Digital datacom also contributed, although from a smaller base. The company said demand and revenue in optical data communications were growing and that it serves multiple customers in that area.
Biophotonics revenue declined nearly 5% from the prior year, as a strong dental comparison period affected MedTech results. Strong defense performance partly offset that decline. Metrology & Production Solutions continued to face a difficult European automotive market and remained slightly loss-making in the first half, though management expects a better second half due to seasonality and encouraging order intake.
Smart Mobility Solutions revenue rose almost 11%, supported by growth in nearly all regions.
Group EBITDA reached approximately €99 million, an increase of more than 25% from the prior-year period. The EBITDA margin improved by nearly 400 basis points, helped by the lower cost base resulting from a cost-reduction program completed last year, an improved product mix in Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing, and the absence of relocation costs associated with the Dresden factory that affected the first quarter of 2025.
Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing generated an EBITDA margin of nearly 32%, while Biophotonics maintained a margin of almost 22%. Group EBIT increased 56% year over year and the EBIT margin reached 12.3%. Earnings per share rose to €0.69 from €0.42 a year earlier.
Capacity expansion and cash flow priorities
Management said its near-term priority is expanding capacity and maximizing output to address the enlarged backlog, especially in original-equipment-manufacturing businesses. Jenoptik is adding machinery and employees where needed and is ramping production at its Dresden facility.
The company is also expanding high-precision clean-room production at its classical optics sites in Jena, primarily for semiconductor-inspection work. Havranek-Kosicek said additional facilities beyond those that came online at the beginning of the year would not affect the next several quarters.
Operating cash flow declined as the company increased working capital to support customer deliveries amid higher order intake. Free cash flow nevertheless improved slightly year over year because investment cash outflows were lower than in the first half of 2025, when the Dresden fab still required considerable spending. Management expects the working-capital ratio to trend slightly above 2025 levels in the second half as the semiconductor ramp continues.
Jenoptik said its financial position remained “very, very robust.”
2026 guidance moves to upper half of prior ranges
Based on first-half performance, Jenoptik now expects full-year revenue growth of 5% to 9%, placing its outlook in the upper half of its initial single-digit growth range. The company expects Semiconductor & Advanced Manufacturing to perform better than anticipated earlier in the year, while continued weakness in automotive-related markets remains a headwind for Metrology & Production Solutions.
The company now expects a full-year EBITDA margin of 20% to 21%, the upper half of its original 19% to 21% range. Capital expenditure guidance was unchanged, with CapEx expected to be slightly below 2025 levels.
Management reiterated that it remains encouraged by defense optics over the short to medium term, but warned investors not to extrapolate the first-half Biophotonics order-intake level. It also said it does not sell to Chinese semiconductor-equipment suppliers, a strategic decision that remains in place.
About Jenoptik (ETR:JEN)
Jenoptik AG provides advanced photonic solutions and smart mobility solutions in Germany and internationally. The company provides imaging solutions and cameras, including microscope and thermographic camera, imaging modules, polymer-based camera modules, and miniaturized digital microscope subsystem; and laser and laser technology, such as laser ablation, scoring, cutting, and rangefinder, as well as laser OEM solutions comprising diode laser and disk laser technology, diode pumped disk lasers, laser systems, and LK heat sink.
