MONBAT CONS PRETAX PROFIT FALLS 61.74% Y/Y IN JULY

The consolidated pre-tax profit of Bulgarian car battery maker Monbat and its Romanian subsidiary Monbat Recycling plunged by 61.74 per cent to 712 000 leva in July, the company's financial report showed on August 25.

At the same time, consolidated net sales gained 31.71 per cent year-on-year to 16.57 million leva in July.

Consolidated pre-tax income up to July inched up 1.29 per cent to 12.75 million leva.

The profit slump in July was attributed to tougher waste management regulations, which led to a 70 per cent decline in raw material supplies to the Romanian scrap battery recycling unit and the subsequent reduction in lead and lead alloys output. The recycling unit failed to deliver on its lead processing and production targets in July, which had an adverse effect on its profitability.

However, the one-off supply problems have been solved earlier this month and are unlikely to hurt financial results for August, Monbat investor relations head Daniela Peeva told Dnevnik.