diff --git a/cmake/generate_version_file.cmake b/cmake/generate_version_file.cmake
index 4d16fc69..eb5e26e6 100644
--- a/cmake/generate_version_file.cmake
+++ b/cmake/generate_version_file.cmake
@@ -15,12 +15,14 @@ if(status AND NOT status EQUAL 0)
       get_filename_component(git_version_string ${CMAKE_CURRENT_LIST_DIR}/.. NAME)
       string(REGEX REPLACE "^netgen(.*)" "\\1" git_version_string "${git_version_string}")
     endif()
-  else()
-    MESSAGE(WARNING "Could not determine git-version from source code - assuming 6.2.0.0")
-    set(git_version_string "v6.2.0.0")
   endif()
 endif()
 
+if (NOT git_version_string)
+  message(WARNING "Could not determine git-version from source code - assuming 6.2.0.0")
+  set(git_version_string "v6.2.0.0")
+endif ()
+
 string(REGEX REPLACE "^v([0-9]+)\\..*" "\\1" NETGEN_VERSION_MAJOR "${git_version_string}")
 string(REGEX REPLACE "^v[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1" NETGEN_VERSION_MINOR "${git_version_string}")
 string(REGEX REPLACE "^v[0-9]+\\.[0-9]+\\.([0-9]+).*" "\\1" NETGEN_VERSION_PATCH "${git_version_string}")