Leica Camera reported 8.5% sales increase for the 3rd quarter of fiscal year 2011/2012 compared to same period from previous year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) is up 10.0%. The company added 79 new employees in 2011.
Full press release:
Leica Camera Group has closed the third quarter of the current fiscal year with sales of € 81,900,000 (same quarter of previous year: € 75,500,000). Sales of the current fiscal year until third-quarter end (April 1 until December 31, 2011) amount to € 223,700,000 (same period of previous year: € 186,400,000). This corresponds to a 20.0 % increase as compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year.
The operating result (EBIT) after the third quarter amounts to € 49,600,000 (same period of previous year: € 28,900,000). This corresponds to a 71.1 % increase. Total assets increased to € 187,200,000 (corresponding prior-year period: € 141,200,000). In the third quarter of the current fiscal year the Company posted EBIT of € 16,500,000 (same period of previous year: € 15,000,000).
The increase in sales on the prior year after third-quarter end is due to the continuing strong demand registered for all the Company’s product categories, with sales up 23.6 % in the Photography product group with the Leica M-System, the professional S-System and Leica’s V-Lux 2, D-Lux 5 and V-Lux 30 digital compact cameras. Even in the much more fiercely competitive Sport Optics segment sales rose 13.2 % as compared to the first three quarters of the previous fiscal year.
The sales growth applies to all regions, with Europe, Germany and Asia registering particularly strong growth-rates of more than 21.8 % as compared to the same period of the last year.
The improvement of results is primarily due to the growth in sales. As a result of the continuing positive demand cost of materials and personnel expenses are above the prioryear level. The number of employees in the Leica Camera Group increased from 1,112 as of December 31, 2010 to 1,191 as of December 31, 2011.
For fiscal year 2011/2012 the Company’s Board of Management expects sales to increase further and have a corresponding effect on EBIT.
Source: Leica Camera AG
