November 3 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian medical consumables producer Etropal [BUL:ETR] said it significantly reduced its non-consolidated net loss to 456,000 levs ($227,753/233,149 euro) in the first nine months of 2022 from a net loss of some 2.4 million levs in the same period of last year, as the negative economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic began to wear off.
Etropal's total revenue declined to 3.6 million levs in January-September from 5.2 million levs in the comparable period of 2021, the company said in an interim financial statement published earlier this week.
Revenue from product sales slipped to 1.9 million levs in the nine months through September from 4.38 million levs a year earlier.
Operating expenses shrank over 46% on the year to 4.08 million levs in the review period, as costs for materials nearly halved to 1.6 million levs and expenses for hired services and personnel also went down.
However, the prices of materials, which for the large part include petroleum-based raw materials, in addition to increased costs for services such as transport or sterilisation of finished goods, continue to have a negative impact on the company's financial results, according to the statement.
"In order to offset the negative consequences of rising prices and the reported decrease in revenue from product sales, the company's management took actions to optimise inventory stocks," Etropal said.
The company's assets grew to 17.3 million levs at the end of September from 16.6 million levs at the end of last year.
Etropal is specialised mainly in the production of consumables for hemodialysis.
Shares in Etropal last traded on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange on Tuesday when they closed flat at 6.20 levs.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)