Carl Zeiss reported a loss for its  fiscal Year 2008/09  at  its Annual Press Conference, held in Stuttgart on December 17th, but expects a recovery in 2010.
In its fiscal year 2008/09, the Carl Zeiss Group generated revenues totalling €2.1 billion, 23 percent less than the previous year (€2.7 billion).

Although the global recession had a negative effect on the exports of German industry, Carl Zeiss continued to generate over 80 percent of its revenues outside Germany.

Due to the slump in demand in industrial business, EbIT (Earnings before Interest and Taxes) dropped to minus €67 million (last year: €343 million).
“The industrial business particularly suffered from the global recession. We took consistent action at an early stage and implemented the appropriate measures to secure the future economic viability of the company and safeguard as many jobs as possible,” said Dr. Dieter Kurz, President and CEO of Carl Zeiss AG. “Due to the considerable reduction in business volume, a negative result could not be avoided despite consistent cost-saving measures.”

A positive trend in Medical Systems, Microscopy and Consumer Optics/Optronics was reported with a downturn in Semiconductor Technology and Industrial Metrology. 

The  Industrial Metrology Group ended the fiscal year 2008/09 with revenues totalling €304 million, a decrease of 19 percent (last year: €374 million). Carl Zeiss reports that the markets for the Industrial Metrology Group are still subdued. 
Overall, Carl Zeiss predicts a clear turnaround and a positive development of the company for fiscal year 2009/10 and has guaranteed  employment at its German sites till September2010.
www.zeiss.de