Draegerwerk sees 2017 sales growth on promising start of new year

Draegerwerk AG & Co KGaA

08/03/2017 08:46

March 8 (Reuters) - German medical equipment supplier 
Draegerwerk  DRWG_p.DE  said on Wednesday it targeted sales 
improvement of between 0 and 3 percent in 2017 as orders on hand 
at the start of the new fiscal year are over 4 percent higher 
than twelve months before. 
    The company said it expected an operating profit (earnings 
before interest and tax) margin of between 5 and 7 percent for 
the fiscal year despite warning that EBIT might be negatively 
impacted by restructuring expenses of up to 10 million euros 
($11 million). 
    "We will... continue to work on our innovative strength in 
2017 and systematically look for sales opportunities 
internationally without losing sight of the costs in the 
process," chief executive Stefan Draeger said. 
    Draegerwerk, which had published preliminary figures in 
January, missed its 2016 guidance by posting net sales of 2.52 
billion euros, 3.3 percent below the level of 2015 fiscal year. 
However, its EBIT margin came in at the higher end of the 
forecast range at 5.4 percent.  
($1 = 0.9471 euros) 
 
 (Reporting by Bartosz Dabrowski; Editing by Georgina Prodhan) 
 ((gdynia.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com; +48 587720995;)) 
 
Keywords: DRAEGERWERK RESULTS/