Barco says that sales for 4Q 2008 were 208m, while total sales for 2008 were 725m - down 1.5% compared to 2007. Order intake for 4Q 2008 was 204 m. For FY08 the reduction in order intake was 2.7%.
2008 EBIT was severely hit by the worldwide economic crisis, and will be below 10m, compared with 58.7m in 2007. "Underlying the low profitability for 2008 are the very weak performance of the corporate events business as part of the Media & Entertainment division, the decrease in gross margin, the higher provisions taken for bad debt, foreign exchange and higher cost," the statement said.
Management had originally set out to reduce cost by 30m, but following further deterioration of the global economy, the cost reduction goal was increased to 36m, leading to higher restructuring charges. Restructuring charges are expected to be around 27m, higher than the 20m communicated with the 4Q 2008 results in October 2008, say Barco.
Reducing working capital had been indicated by Barco as being a key priority. Over 2008 working capital was reduced by around 40m, supporting a reduction in net debt to about 30m from 53m at the end of 2007.
The Board of Directors will submit to the Annual Shareholders Meeting not to pay out a dividend over 2008. Full details will be announced in February.
(Lee Baldock)
