Slovenian manufacturer of appliances Gorenje on Friday announced the results of operations in the first half of the year .
Macro-economic conditions, foreign exchange gains and strategic relocation of production facilities mainly affected the reported results.
Group revenue in the first half of the year amounted to EUR 590.1 million and were 2.7% lower than in the same period last year. The decline was due to reduced business volume in the field of ecology and portfolio investment. The core business of production of home appliances , which generates up to 85% of total Group revenue, has registered an increase in revenue of 0.9 % and an increase in market share despite a decline in the overall European market. Adjusted for the negative impact of foreign currency exchange, organic growth in operating income would have been 1.4%.
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The biggest boost to growth is given by the sales in Eastern Europe to be raised by 7.6 % compared to the equivalent period last year. However , foreign exchange losses have limited reporting an increase to 7.1 % . In Western Europe , Gorenje's sales fell by 2.8 % as a result of difficult market conditions. Sales outside Europe also was lower and that of 7.5% .
The higher level of sales in Eastern Europe and improved sales structure with a greater share of products with better margins, along with the successful sale of non – core assets, are positively impacted on EBITDA, which reached EUR 36.8 m and thus surpassed the management plans by 8.8 %, although was 18.1% lower compared to the same period last year due to restructuring costs and weaker demand. Gorenje Group closed the first half with a net loss of EUR -7.8 m , which is in line with the plan for this period .
