SCHOTT revenues remain stable despite challenging market conditions

SCHOTT, an international technology group with a global manufacturing network, maintained broadly stable global sales at EUR 2.83bn in fiscal year 2024/25. However, its profitability declined, with EBIT at EUR 230m, due to an impairment loss in the business segments Precision Materials and Home Appliances. Headwinds include weaker demand in certain markets, along with high energy prices in Germany, negative currency effects, tariffs, and global economic uncertainty.

Despite these challenges, SCHOTT’s financial position remained robust. With an equity ratio of 68%, now accounting for EUR 3.3bn, the company continues to pursue strategic investments.

“Maintaining financial stability was a key priority in fiscal year 2024/25,” says Marcus Knöbel, SCHOTT’s CFO. “Our strong equity base gives us the flexibility to continue investing in innovation and efficiency, even under difficult economic conditions.”

Operational and strategic highlights

In fiscal year 2024/25, SCHOTT reached important milestones in strengthening its business and operational footprint. By integrating QSIL GmbH Quarzschmelze Ilmenau following its acquisition, SCHOTT reinforced its quartz glass capabilities, which are especially relevant for chip and wafer production processes in the semiconductor industry.

Through its publicly listed subsidiary SCHOTT Pharma (1SXP), the company expanded its global production network for drug containment and delivery solutions, inaugurating a new plant in Jagodina, Serbia for ampoules, breaking ground on a new production facility for ready-to-use cartridges at its existing site in Lukácsháza, Hungary, and progressing on further capacity expansions in Germany, Switzerland, the U.S., and India.

SCHOTT also began construction on an electric glass melting tank for pharmaceutical glass tubing in Mitterteich, Germany. In addition, the company successfully ramped up serial production of geometric reflective waveguides for augmented reality smart glasses at its new manufacturing site in Kulim, Malaysia. This marks a key step toward scalable production for consumer-grade applications. With this step, SCHOTT became the first company capable of mass-producing geometric reflective waveguides for AR smart glasses.

Innovation and future technologies

Innovation remains a core pillar of SCHOTT’s strategy and a key driver for future growth. The successful ramp-up of geometric reflective waveguide production positions SCHOTT as a key technology partner for leading AR smart glasses brands, and supports the pathway of AR solutions into large-scale consumer products. The new high-tech production site in Malaysia, ramped up in 2025 for processing optical glass into geometric reflective waveguides in high volumes, is already running at its full target output. Further investments and capacity expansions are underway, aiming to significantly increase optical waveguide supply due to strong customer demand.

In semiconductors, SCHOTT continued to advance material solutions for next-generation manufacturing, including glass-based substrates for advanced packaging, high-purity quartz glass for demanding wafer processes, and fiber optic solutions enabling precise optical inspection and measurement.

Beyond these markets, SCHOTT also progressed with scalable ultra-thin glass solutions for space applications, developed in close cooperation with Heilbronn-based AZUR SPACE and supported with funding from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Outlook

Looking ahead, SCHOTT expects market conditions to remain challenging in fiscal year 2025/26. The company seeks to address these challenges through cost discipline, by focusing on implementing its ongoing efficiency program through cost and structural optimization as well as increasing automation in its production sites. The expected growth rate for the new fiscal year is set to 4-5%, with an investment forecast of EUR 400m.

At the same time, SCHOTT aims to maintain its innovation momentum, further improve energy efficiency, and pursue targeted growth opportunities through expansion, capacity additions, strong partnerships, and selective M&A.