ZAGREB (Croatia), November 2 (SeeNews) – Croatian building materials producer Nexe Grupa said its consolidated net profit plunged to 20.66 million kuna ($4.22 million/2.86 million euro) through September from 151.49 million kuna a year earlier.
The company atrributed the fall to weaker demand, falling operating income and higher financial costs.
Group EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) totalled 198.5 million kuna over the review period with EBITDA margin at 19.8%, the company said in a filing with the Zagreb Stock Exchange (ZSE) on Friday. No comparative figures were immediately available.
Consolidated operating income fell 14.1% on the year to 1.002 billion kuna through September as the economic crisis took its toll on the construction industry across the region, the statement said.
Cement sales accounted for the biggest chunk of the group's operating income at 36%, followed by concrete, aggregates and mortar at 22%.
Nexe Grupa pared its consolidated operating costs by 7.1% to 909.17 million kuna in the nine months to September.
Nexe Grupa (www.nexe.hr) comprises around 20 companies operating in Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro. It is active in construction and agriculture and in the production of cement, bricks, tiles, concrete and lime.
Nexe Grupa shares were last traded on the ZSE on October 23, closing unchanged at 89.75 kuna.
(1 euro=7.2326 Croatian kuna)