April 30 (SeeNews) - Radiator maker Korado Bulgaria [BUL:4KX], part of Czech Korado Group, said on Monday its net profit rose to 1.6 million levs ($1 million/818,067 euro) in the first three months of 2018 from 1.36 million levs in the same period last year.
Total revenue grew to 10.45 million levs in the January-March period, compared to 9.6 million levs in the same quarter of 2017, the company said in a bourse filing.
Materials cost increased to 7.4 million levs in the period under review from 6.8 million levs in the January-March period of 2017.
In a separate statement the company said that it succeeded in achieving positive first-quarter results despite an increase in steel prices and a decline in per-unit sales as compared to the same period last year when the company posted all time record-high per-unit sales.
"This was made possible by the adequate sale price and product mix sold on the market," Vojtech Chamek, CEO of Korado Group, said in the statement.
Korado Bulgaria's posted a net profit 4.8 million levs in 2017, as 72% of it, or 3.4 million levs, is planned to be distributed in dividend. The company will vote on the dividend payment proposal on May 23.
Korado Bulgaria plans to distribute 0.26 levs per share in dividend, as much as the previous year. However, if the share capital increase carried out in 2017 is taken into consideration, the planned dividend amount is 50% higher.
The company will also vote on a proposal to have the option to distribute a semi-annual dividend.
Korado Bulgaria was registered in 1998 when the Czech company acquired 98.2% of the originally German-Bulgarian steel radiators production plant in Strazhitsa. The plant exports its output to the markets of Romania, Ukraine, France, Hungary and Bosnia.
Czech Korado Group is the fifth largest producer of steel panel radiators in the world.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)