German speciality glass producer Schott, part of the Carl Zeiss foundation, has said it expects full-year figures to show a return to profit.
Schott CEO Leopold von Heimendahl said precise earnings f…
German speciality glass producer Schott, part of the Carl Zeiss foundation, has said it expects full-year figures to show a return to profit. Schott CEO Leopold von Heimendahl said precise earnings figures were not yet available for the business year ending on 30 September 2000 but noted that the group was expecting a positive net result. Group full-year sales rose 20% to Euro 1.9 billion. Pre-tax cashflow rose from Euro 187 million to Euro 260 million, a significant improvement on the year-end results in September 1999, which showed stagnant sales and net losses of Euro 185 million. According to Von Heimendahl, all divisions had contributed to the group“s success. Strong sales were reported by the divisions producing opto-electronic components, and special forms of glass for optics, television and household technology. Foreign sales growth was reported at 30%. Sales generated outside Germany now account for 74% of the group total, enabling the group to profit from the weak euro. For 2001, Von Heimendahl said Schott expects sales growth of 5%.