BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - German medical and safety technology provider Draegerwerk AG (DRWKF.PK) reported Thursday that its first-quarter loss after taxes totaled 29.0 million euros, wider than prior year's loss of 0.7 million euros.
Dräger generated Group earnings before interest and taxes or EBIT of negative 39.8 million euros, compared to positive EBIT of 2.3 million euros a year ago.
Net sales were down by 7.4 percent to 495.6 million euros from 535.0 million euros last year. Net of currency effects, net sales fell 2.5 percent.
Order intake net of currency effects increased 2.6 percent, while it decreased by 2.8 percent in nominal terms to 621.4 million euros.
Stefan Dräger, Chairman of the Executive Board, said, 'Dräger saw a weak start to the new fiscal year. Net sales have declined, while our earnings suffered in the first quarter from the relatively low net sales volume and a weak gross margin. At the same time, we have started to invest in R&D and sales.'
Looking ahead, the company said it expect to see a significant increase in net sales development in the upcoming quarters, which is why net sales forecast remains unchanged.
For fiscal year 2018, Dräger continues to expect net sales growth of between 2.0 and 5.0 percent, net of currency effects, and an EBIT margin of between 4.0 and 6.0 percent.
Due to the restrained business development in the first quarter and currency effects, the EBIT margin is likely to come out in the lower range of the guidance.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX