The German bathroom fittings and tableware maker Villeroy & Boch said on 28 November that a loss for 1996 was unavoidable but that positive results are expectedin 1997.
“Profit-boosting and other nec…
The German bathroom fittings and tableware maker Villeroy & Boch said on 28 November that a loss for 1996 was unavoidable but that positive results are expectedin 1997. “Profit-boosting and other necessary measures introduced by the company are combined with extraordinary charges and mean that a loss in full-year 1996 looks inevitable,” the company said in a compulsory statement. Villeroy & Boch reported a pre-tax loss of DM 10.4 million (US$ 6.8 million) in the first nine months of 1996, compared to a pre-tax profit of DM 50.2 million in the same period in 1995. “The unsatisfactory development in earnings is primarily due to a fall in sales in the high-earning bathroom fittings sector, and a successful programme of cost reduction was not enough to compensate in the period,” the group said. In the nine-month period, total sales fell by 3.1% to DM 1.08 billion , with the group“s bathroom division registering a 12.4% fall in turnover to DM 353.1 million. “Rationalisation programmes will take place in all areas of activity, to improve the earnings capability of Villeroy & Boch. The sale of the Bamberg unit and the capacity reduction at Torgau are real steps in this direction,” the company said.