Baden-Württemberg: Cost increases burden Paul Hartmann's quarterly balance sheet

Heidenheim (dpa / lsw) - Cost increases have reduced profits at medical device manufacturer Paul Hartmann.

Baden-Württemberg: Cost increases burden Paul Hartmann's quarterly balance sheet

Heidenheim (dpa / lsw) - Cost increases have reduced profits at medical device manufacturer Paul Hartmann. In the third quarter of the current financial year, the manufacturer of dressings, disinfectants and diapers had sales of EUR 1.71 billion (previous year: EUR 1.70 billion), as the company announced on Thursday in Heidenheim. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) fell by 27.6 percent to EUR 139 million (previous year: EUR 192 million).

Paul Hartmann justifies this with increased costs for material, logistics and energy. According to the company, it responded with price increases and was thus able to absorb part of the material costs. In order to be prepared for problems in the supply chain, the company also built up its inventories, which was associated with "significant additional costs".

For the current financial year, Paul Hartmann has scaled back his profit expectations and continues to assume a slight decline in sales. The company, based in Heidenheim, currently employs around 10,500 people, around 4,300 of them in Germany.