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The listed Vorarlberg luminaire manufacturer Zumtobel significantly improved its earnings in the first three quarters of 2019/20 and achieved a profit for the period of EUR 22.2 million after a loss of EUR 6.1 million. The operating result was higher. The annual and medium-term forecast is confirmed despite increasing uncertainties such as the effects of the coronavirus.
“The lighting industry is a highly competitive market and price pressure is immense,” Zumtobel boss Alfred Felder said in a press release on Tuesday. In addition, there would be “macroeconomic uncertainties such as the effects of the corona virus and a weakening global economic growth”, which would also affect markets such as Germany or Great Britain, which are particularly important for Zumtobel.
“Due to these market violations, we anticipate a challenging last quarter and therefore still expect an adjusted EBIT margin of between 3 and 5 percent for the year as a whole, with a slight increase in sales.” Also the medium-term goal of an EBIT margin of around 6 percent remain up until fiscal year 2020/21, it says in today’s announcement.
The positive development in group profitability in the first nine months is due to a slight improvement in sales and cost savings. Sales grew by 0.8 percent to EUR 871.1 million. The operating result (EBIT) rose from EUR 7.2 million to EUR 38.3 million. Group EBIT adjusted for special effects increased by 96.2 percent to EUR 46.9 million.
In the course of the ongoing optimization of the operational business, the board of directors has decided to regain management control of the lighting plant in Les Andelys, France, which was sold in 2017, from the French industrial group Active’Invest. The factory, which specializes in outdoor lighting, is therefore part of the global Zumtobel Group production network. With the return, a stabilization of the delivery processes and thus a better service of the customers in the outdoor lighting business is to be ensured. This should subsequently have a positive impact on sales development in the outdoor lighting business.
In the third quarter alone, Zumtobel reduced the loss to EUR 2.5 million after a loss for the period of EUR 14.8 million. EBIT was up by 1.7 million euros, after minus 12 million euros, according to the quarterly report. Sales fell slightly by 0.5 percent to EUR 267.3 million.
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