With an increase in sales of 1% to €153.9 million (compared to €152.5 million in the 2017/2018 financial year), Isra Vision still stood out positively overall compared to the machine vision market, which, according to the VDMA, recorded a decline in industry sales in the mid to high single-digit range.

In Europe and Asia, Isra was able to confirm the previous year's level, while growth rates were achieved in North America. Targeted strengthening of regional management in the UK, Mexico and Spain is expected to provide additional impetus. Expanding and strengthening the company's global presence remains an integral part of its future strategy: planned measures address India, Eastern Europe, South East Asia and MENA.

The global economic trends in the 2018/2019 financial year are also reflected in the segments' results. In the Industrial Automation segment, for example, whose customer base includes automotive manufacturers and global players from a wide range of industries in particular, momentum slowed slightly and orders were postponed. This resulted in sales of EUR 39.1 million (EUR 39.8 million in the 17/18 financial year). In the Surface Vision segment, Isra achieved slight growth thanks to its broad diversification across different target markets; sales rose to €114.8 million (financial year 17/18: €112.7 million).

Supplementing organic growth with acquisitions remains an important focus of the corporate strategy. For example, the strategic portfolio in the field of embedded sensor technologies was expanded with the acquisition of Swiss company Photonfocus in the financial year in order to combine 3D machine vision expertise with robot automation in both established markets and industries with discrete manufacturing. The use of Photonfocus technologies also provides new impetus for surface inspection. Other acquisition targets in the areas of industrial automation, production analytics and Industry 4.0 software and sensor technology are currently under close consideration. Projects to strengthen regional business in Eastern Europe and Asia are also being examined, according to the company.