Exhibit 99.1

Coherent, Inc. Reports Third Fiscal Quarter Results

SANTA CLARA, CA, July 26, 2012 — Coherent, Inc. (NASDAQ, COHR), a world leader in providing photonics based solutions to the commercial and scientific research markets, today announced financial results for its third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012.

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

THIRD FISCAL QUARTER DETAILS

For the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012, Coherent announced net sales of $196.4 million and net income, on a U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, of $17.2 million, or $0.72 per diluted share.  These results compare to net sales of $210.9 million and net income of $19.0 million, or $0.74 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2011.  Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 was $20.1 million, or $0.83 per diluted share.  Non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2011 was $21.1 million, or $0.83 per diluted share.  For a complete overview of the differences between GAAP and non-GAAP results, please see the reconciliation table included at the end of our release.

Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 were $193.3 million and net income, on a GAAP basis, was $16.2 million, or $0.67 per diluted share.  Non-GAAP net income for the second quarter of fiscal 2012 was $17.4 million, or $0.73 per diluted share.

Bookings received during the third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2012 of $218.9 million decreased 4.2% from $228.5 million in the same fiscal quarter of the prior year and increased by 19.5% compared to bookings of $183.1 million in the immediately preceding quarter.  The book-to-bill ratio was 1.11, resulting in backlog of $369.4 million at June 30, 2012, compared to a backlog of $349.2 million at March 31, 2012 and a backlog of $368.7 million at July 2, 2011.

“There are several key takeaways from the June quarter.  Gross margins expanded modestly on a sequential basis.  We received significant orders for flat panel display (FPD) annealing laser systems from multiple end users in Japan, Korea and China.  We delivered our first Gen 8 annealing system, which sets a new high water mark for FPD production.  We

also shipped our first FPD products from our new Korean facility and our expanded German site.  While these developments were largely in-line with previously communicated expectations, they do set the stage for further improvement in gross margin,” said John Ambroseo, Coherent’s President and Chief Executive Officer.

Coherent ended the quarter with cash and short term investments of $209.6 million, a decrease of $5.6 million from cash and short term investments of $215.2 million at March 31, 2012. During the quarter ended June 30, 2012, Coherent repurchased 92,700 shares of common stock at a cost of $4.3 million, which completed the authorized repurchase program.

CONFERENCE CALL REMINDER

The Company will host a conference call today to discuss its financial results at 1:30 P.M. Pacific (4:30 P.M. Eastern). A listen-only broadcast of the conference call can be accessed on the Company’s website at either http://www.coherent.com/Investors/ or http://www.earnings.com. For those who are not able to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived for approximately three months on both web sites.  A transcript of management’s prepared remarks can be found at http://www.coherent.com/Investors/.

Summarized statement of operations information is as follows (unaudited, in thousands except per share data):

(A)       Stock-related compensation expense included in operating results is summarized below (all footnote amounts are unaudited, in thousands, except per share data):

For the quarters ended June 30, 2012, March 31, 2012, and July 2, 2011, the impact on net income, net of tax was $2,852 ($0.12 per diluted share), $2,895 ($0.12 per diluted share) and $2,112 ($0.08 per diluted share), respectively. For the nine months ended June 30, 2012 and July 2, 2011, the impact on net income, net of tax was $8,441 ($0.35 per diluted share) and $6,672 ($0.26 per diluted share), respectively.

(B)       Changes in deferred compensation plan liabilities are included in cost of sales and operating expenses while gains and losses on deferred compensation plan assets are included in other income (expense) net.  Deferred compensation expense (benefit) included in operating results is summarized below:

For the quarters ended June 30, 2012, March 31, 2012 and July 2, 2011, the impact on other income (expense) net from gains or losses on deferred compensation plan assets was expense of $1,051, income of $1,541 and income of $216, respectively. For the nine months ended June 30, 2012 and July 2, 2011, the impact on other income (expense) net was income of $436 and income of $4,886, respectively.

(C)       The nine months ended July 2, 2011 includes $5,918 ($6,113 net of tax ($0.24 per diluted share)) gain from the dissolution of our Finland operations, of which a charge of $593 is recorded in cost of sales and a benefit of $6,511 is recorded in other income (expense), net.

(D)       The nine months ended June 30, 2012 include $1,647 ($0.07 per diluted share) release of tax reserves and related interest as a result of the closure of open tax years.

(E)       The nine months ended July 2, 2011 includes a $1,549 ($0.06 per diluted share) increase in valuation allowances against deferred tax assets.

Summarized balance sheet information is as follows (unaudited, in thousands):

Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP net income (unaudited, in thousands, net of tax):

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements, as defined under the Federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include the statements in this press release that relate to further improvement in gross margin. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with any general market recovery, our successful implementation of our customer design wins, our and our customers’ exposure to risks associated with worldwide economic conditions and, the ability of our customers to forecast their own end markets, our ability to accurately forecast future periods, customer acceptance and adoption of our new product offerings, continued availability of products and materials from our suppliers, our ability to timely ship our products and our customers’ ability to accept such shipments, our ability to have our customers qualify

our product offerings, government economic policies in China and other regions of the world, the utilization of our additional facilities in Korea and Germany and other risks identified in the Company’s SEC filings.  Readers are encouraged to refer to the risk disclosures and critical accounting policies and estimates described in the Company’s reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K, as applicable and as filed from time-to-time by the Company.  Actual results, events and performance may differ materially from those presented herein.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements as a result of events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Founded in 1966, Coherent, Inc. is a world leader in providing photonics based solutions to the commercial and scientific research markets and part of the Russell 2000. Please direct any questions to Leen Simonet, Chief Financial Officer at 408-764-4161. For more information about Coherent, visit the Company’s Web site at http://www.coherent.com/ for product and financial updates.

5100 Patrick Henry Dr. . P. O. Box 54980, Santa Clara, California  95056—0980 . Telephone (408) 764-4000