October 25 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian car battery manufacturer Elhim Iskra [BUL:ELHM] said on Tuesday that it booked a net loss of 308,000 levs ($155,358/157,478 euro) in the first nine months of 2022 compared to a net profit of 892,000 levs in the same period of last year, despite a 15.7% annual rise in revenue.
The company's sales revenue in the review period amounted to some 35.2 million levs against 30.3 million levs in the January-September period of 2021, exceeding by 4.9% the company's forecasts.
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Revenue increase from the sales of traction and semi-traction storage batteries was offset by a decrease in revenue from the sales of battery cells and starter batteries, Elhim Iskra said.
The company's nine-month expenses widened 20.8% on the year to 35.45 million levs, mainly due to a 21.5% jump in expenses for raw materials such as lead and the excessive annual surge in energy costs - by 168.1% for electricity and by 228% for natural gas.
Looking ahead, Elhim Iskra said it expects revenue in the second half of 2022 to be 7.9% higher compared to the same period of last year, exceeding 20 million levs. The annual increase in sales is seen at 13%, with the company expecting to close the current year with sales of 43.5 million levs and a net profit of 100,000 levs.
The 2022 forecast was made taking into account a potential minimal impact on company activity from the ongoing war in Ukraine and its impact on the national and world economy. The car battery maker acknowledges high systemic risks in the near term from the surge in prices of energy and raw materials as well as supply chain disruptions. It also highlights potential interest rate increases by the central bank, inflationary pressures and political uncertainty as factors that may negatively affect its performance.
In the third quarter alone, Elhim Iskra recorded a 10.1% yearly sales growth to 11.1 million levs, the company said in a stock exchange filing. The company anticipates sales in the fourth quarter to be 8% higher than last year at 9.88 million levs.
Elhim Iskra is part of local diversified group Stara Planina Hold [BUL:SPH]. The Pazardzhik-based company exports over 93% of its output.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)