STUTTGART, Germany— Zeiss wrapped up the first six months of its 2013/14 fiscal year, ending March 31, 2014, with revenue totaling €2.074 billion, a 5 percent increase over year ago. Incoming orders totaled €2.246 billion, a 16 percent increase over prior year which Zeiss attributed primarily to increased demand from the semiconductor market. Earnings (EBIT) grew by around €57 million to €166 million.

However, Zeiss reported that exchange rate effects negatively impacted its first half-year results. Without these effects, a revenue increase of 7 percent and earnings of €186 million would have resulted when calculated on a comparable basis, according to Zeiss.

Zeiss’s vision care business generated €419 million in revenue for the first half, a decrease of 8 percent from year ago, or 4 percent on a comparable basis.

“Overall, we continued to grow in the first half of the 2013/14 fiscal year despite the negative currency conditions facing us. We benefited from the strong demand in the semiconductor market and also achieved further gains in the Medical Technology and Industrial Metrology business groups,” said Michael Kaschke, president and CEO of Carl Zeiss AG. "We set our sights slightly higher and need to intensify our efforts in the second half of the year in order to step up the pace again and grow in some markets under the difficult conditions facing us,” he added.

To strengthen and expand its Medical Technology business group, Zeiss reported that it acquired the company Aaren Scientific, headquartered in Ontario, Calif., at the beginning of 2014. Aaren Scientific specializes in the production of intraocular lenses.