Singulus, the world's biggest maker of equipment for replicating CDs and DVDs, said it could not be precise about an anticipated fall in sales and earnings this year after posting stronger quarterly profit. The German company said in a statement on Thursday it could take until after the second quarter to say how big the drop would be - caused by weakness of the Asian market and a transition to a new generation of storage technology. "Singulus expects lower revenues and earnings in 2005," it said in a statement. "The company will not give any guidance for the current year due to uncertainty about planning elements at this moment."
"We will publish a forecast along with the financial figures for the second quarter at the latest."
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose by 58 percent to 23.7 million euros in the quarter, Singulus said, while sales rose 30 percent to 139.7 million euros.
The company had said last month it expected earnings and sales to fall in 2005 after a sharp drop in orders in the fourth quarter, which it attributed to weak demand from customers in Asia, where Singulus makes 40 percent of its sales. Singulus plans to axe 120 jobs Worldwide as part of a 5 million-euro cost-cutting programme to adjust to lower demand.
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