Gorenje Group’s solid performance from the last quarter of 2015 continued in the first quarter of 2016. The company closed the period with an EBIT of 6.8 million euro (+52%) and net profit of 0.6 million euro, which is a considerable improvement over the first quarter of last year. Revenue reached 285.5 million euro, up 6.5 percent. Revenue from the core activity Home reached 242.7 million euro (up 8.4 percent over the corresponding period of 2015). Positive development includes high growth rates for sales of major and small domestic appliances and favorable changes in the sales structure, both in terms of brands and products, and in terms of geographic distribution. In Eastern Europe, sales increased in Slovenia, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Growth was also considerable in the markets of Russia and Ukraine (over 30%). In Western Europe, sales growth was notable in the Netherlands where Gorenje’s market share is also increasing. Sales were also up in North America, Caucasus region, Asia, and Brazil. Also contributing to the improvement of sales structure was the increase in the share of innovative and premium appliances and products under the premium brands Asko and Atag. Small domestic appliance sales were increased by 18 percent. Key new development results from the first quarter of 2016 include revised built-in under-counter refrigerator freezers with a width of 600 mm; 10-kg capacity washing machines for our strategic partner Panasonic; a line of premium built-in ovens Asko Craft; and a new line of mid-segment dishwashers for which mass production launched last week. In order to improve the market communication and sales support, Gorenje invested 6.2 million euro, which accounts for 2.2 percent of the Group revenue (up 0.5 percentage point relative to the comparable period of last year). Market conditions in the second quarter are stable, which is also reflected on the sales volume.
