Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1997/02/13
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Adrian Tanovic@GRN 02/13/97 10:26 AM FYI, this off last week's financial wire service reports: - --------------------------- Solms, Germany, Feb. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Leica Camera AG said net profit in the third quarter of fiscal 1997 rose sixfold, driven by bigger margins on new products and strong earnings in product lines other than compact cameras. Net profit for the quarter ending Dec. 31 rose to 3 million DM, from 500,000 DM in the year-ago period. Sales for the third quarter rose to 76.3 million DM, from 66.7 million in the same period last year. "We are quite happy with the development in the third quarter, which came from nearly all out product lines," said Leica Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Hofmann in an interview. "We've also changed a lot in our structure, introducing new products that have better margins, and cutting many product lines that had negative or small margins." Shares closed floor trading down 20 pfennig at 51.80 DM. Nine-month net profit climbed to 4.9 million DM, rebounding from a loss of 1.6 million DM in the year-ago period, as proceeds from the sale of licenses more than offset the cost of its initial public offering, Leica said. Nine-month sales rose 7.1 percent to 174.8 million DM. Although the market for compact cameras remains "difficult", this was offset by strong performances in other product areas such as field glasses, mirror reflex cameras and projectors, Leica said. Though Hofmann said it was "too early" to provide a forecast for full-year net profit, he said a strong performance in the fourth quarter should enable Leica to exceed last year's level of 7.3 million DM. The fourth quarter is crucial for Leica, Hofmann said, as it is a period when the camera market traditionally unveils several new products and receives large orders from its dealers. Hofmann said he expects Leica to exceed third-quarter sales in the fourth quarter, with the biggest gains coming from Asia and the U.S. - --------------------------------- Adrian Tanovic Tokyo