Basler Prelim. H1 Earnings, Sales Plunge, To Axe 200 Jobs; Cuts Outlook On Weak Demand

Basler AG (BSLG), a German provider of industrial cameras and accessories, on Monday, reported a decline in preliminary earnings for the first half, reflecting a fall in sales, mainly due to continued weak demand and higher customer inventory levels.

In addition, citing weak demand outlook, the company said that it will slash around 200 positions in Germany and abroad. As a result, the company has revised down its full year outlook.

For the six-month period, Basler posted a pre-tax result of 0.2 million euros, compared with 14.8 million euros, reported for the same period of previous year. EBITDA stood at 10.7 million euros as against last year’s 23 million euros.

Incoming orders moved down to 94 million euros from the previous year’s 147.9 million euros.

Sales for the period was at 116.1 million euros, lesser than 130.8 million euros.

Looking ahead, the company has announced a restructuring plan as it does not expect a recovery in demand before 2024, citing continued weak demand in the Asian and American markets and increasing signs of recession in Europe. It also noted that the expected recovery will also take longer than previously expected duration to achieve the sales levels of 2022.

Basler will axe around 200 full-time positions in Germany and abroad, with the continuation of restrictive management of operational expenses and investments. The company intends to implement the restructuring program immediately.

As a result of the expected lower sales and the one-time costs associated with the restructuring, the company significantly revised down its full year 2023 outlook.

For full year, the German camera maker now expects a pre-tax loss of 12 million euros -20 million euros, including restructuring-related non-recurring expenses of around 11 million euros -13 million euros. Earlier, the Group had aimed for a pre-tax return rate of 5% to 8%, for full year 2023.

Most of the restructuring charges are expected to be incurred in the third quarter.

The company now expects its full year sales to be in the range of 200 million euros – 215 million euros as against its previous outlook of 235 million euros- 265 million euros.

The company plans to revise its current medium-term planning to attain 400 million euros in 2025 in view of the market weakness.

Basler will publish its full half-year report on August 10.

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