November 16 (SeeNews) - Slovenian logistics company Intereuropa slumped to a group net loss of 5.4 million euro ($8.05 million) in the first nine months of 2009 from a net profit of 7.0 million euro a year ago.
Group net sales dropped 29% on the year to 144.6 million euro through September, missing the initial target for the period by 30%, Intereuropa said in a filing with the Ljubljana Stock Exchange (LJSE) on Friday.
"The declining international trade flows and economic activity in the markets of our Group and the resulting heavier pressures on prices are the key factors that have greatly affected the shrunken sales revenue on the Group level," the statement said.
The domestic market accounted for one third of net sales, on par with the contribution to group sales made by the markets of former Yugoslavia and Russia over the review period.
Group EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) more than halved to 11.3 million euro in the first nine months of 2009 from 26.97 million euro a year earlier.
The group, which opertes a fleet of more than 600 company-owned trucks and delivery vans, said it turned to a nine-month operating loss of 475,000 euro from an operating profit of 16.2 million euro over the year-ago period.
In the first nine months of 2009, investment in fixed assets by Intereuropa Group totalled 18.5 million euro, including 15.8 million euro in real estate and 2.7 million euro in plant and equipment.
The biggest investment of 13.6 million euro was made by Moscow-based subsidiary OOO Intereuropa-East for the completion of Logistics Centre Chekhov.
Over the reporting period, the number of employees in Intereuropa Group fell by 8.0%, or 234 employees, compared with end-2008. As of 30 September 2009, the total number of employees in the Group was 2,559.
In addition to its home market, the group is present in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia, Montenegro, Russia, France, Ukraine, Germany, Kosovo and Albania.
As of September 30, 2009, the company's biggest shareholder was port operator Luka Koper with a 24.8% stake.
Intereuropa shares, part of the broader SBI20 index of the LJSE, closed down 0.89% at an average price of 6.65 euro on Friday.
($=0.671 euro)