Agfa Graphics earnings dip in second quarter

Agfa Graphics has posted double-digit percentage falls in EBIT and EBITDA in its second quarter results despite a small increase in turnover.

Revenues increased 3.2% year-on-year to €418m (£330m) following strong performance from the industrial inkjet segment, which accounted for more than 30% of Agfa's total Drupa order intake.

The group cited a glut of orders for its Anapurna and Jeti wide-format printers, as well as several orders for its M-Press high-end flatbed presses, including RJ Design Associates, which took delivery of its M-Press Leopard on 7 July.

Meanwhile, in prepress, the group's European CTP business suffered from the weakness of the economy and the resulting "sluggishness" in the advertising market. On the upside, CTP performed well in the Americas and Asia Pacific - partly because of the weakness of the Euro.

Gross profit margin was level with the prior year at 25.8%, while the effects of competitive pressure in CTP and high raw material prices were said to be counterbalanced by Agfa's film price increases and operational improvements.

However, the Graphics division's EBITDA and EBIT margins both declined, falling from 6.1% to 5.2% and 3.7% to 3% respectively. As a result, EBITDA dropped 11.7% year-on-year to €21.9m while EBIT fell 14.2% to €12.7m.

Agfa said that the Q2 year-on-year margin decline in its Graphics division was "due to the impact of exchange losses and to a lesser extent due to some extra provisioning for receivables".

At group level revenue increased 2.1% year-on-year to €779m while EBITDA and EBIT fell 10.2% and 11.1% to €53m and €32m respectively. The group's pre-tax result came in at a €6m loss, down from a €5m profit in Q2 2011.

It was the same story in the group's first half results, with revenues marginally up for the six month period, from €1,499m in 2011 to €1,513m in 2012, but margins down, resulting in a pre-tax loss of €25m versus a €14m profit in H1 2011.