JENA (dpa-AFX) - The Jenoptik technology group plans to pay its shareholders a higher dividend in 2022 after a good fiscal year. For the current year, the executive board led by Stefan Traeger remained confident on Wednesday when presenting final annual figures. Accordingly, sales are expected to increase again and the margin to improve. The share lost 2.6 percent in midday trading. However, the share price has risen by almost a fifth since the turn of the year.

For the year just ended, shareholders are to receive 30 cents per share - five cents more than the previous year, the company said Wednesday in Jena, Germany. Profit attributable to shareholders fell more than 30 percent to 55.1 million euros, mainly following a reassessment of the business prospects of the non-optics business, higher taxes and a negative result from the military technology business sold in the summer. In addition, there had been a positive one-off effect in the previous year in connection with company acquisitions.

Jenoptik had already announced preliminary key data for the past year and an outlook for the current year in February, which the Group has now confirmed with the final figures. Sales at the Thuringia-based company increased by a good 30 percent to around 980 million euros last year. This was mainly due to acquisitions in the optics business. However, business with systems and services relating to traffic safety also developed somewhat better. By contrast, Jenoptik generated less revenue in the non-optics business.

Here, the listed company is heavily dependent on sales abroad, even though the share of Group sales declined in 2022. Overall, a good three quarters of sales were generated abroad in 2022, compared with 81 percent a year earlier. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Ebitda) rose by a good 18 percent to around 184 million euros last year.

Jenoptik is again expecting strong growth for the current year due to good business with the semiconductor industry. In view of the order backlog and order intake, sales are expected to increase to between 1.05 and 1.10 billion euros. Of this, 19.0 to 19.5 percent should remain as operating profit (Ebitda). In the previous year, the margin was 18.8 percent. According to analyst Peter Rothenaicher of Baader Bank, the outlook for 2023 speaks for enormous confidence. However, the forecasts are conservative and offer upside potential.

Jenoptik had only announced a major multi-year order for the supply of optical components for production facilities in the semiconductor industry at the end of January. The volume of the agreement with a global group is in the upper double-digit million range. The Jenoptik Group says it employs around 4400 people, of which around 1500 are based in Jena.

Meanwhile, there will soon be a change in the finance department. At the beginning of April, Prisca Havranek-Kosicek will become the new Chief Financial Officer. She has already held positions as chief financial officer at various large companies, most recently at Nilfisk. At Jenoptik, she succeeds Hans-Dieter Schumacher, who will step down from his post on March 31, 2023. He had already announced his retirement in May last year. The company has given "personal reasons" as the reason for the departure./mne/lew/mis