February 3 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian car battery maker Monbat [BUL:5MB] said that its non-consolidated net profit fell by an annual 21.24% to 7.8 million levs ($4.4 million/4 million euro) in 2019, with earnings per share dropping to 0.20 levs from 0.25 levs in 2018.
Operating expenses increased to 356.6 million levs in 2019 from 350.8 million levs the year before, due to an 11.7 million levs rise in expenses for materials, the company said in an annual financial statement last week.
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Expenses for hired services and salaries also increased slightly in 2019.
Monbat's sales rose 3.55% to 361.5 million levs last year, as 74.67% of the total came from sales abroad.
Germany and France were the company's largest markets, accounting for 10.37% and 10.34% of Monbat's sales abroad, respectively.
Exports to South Korea were at the hearth of the company's revenue rise, as Monbat's sales in the country soared to 8.2 million euro last year from 743,300 euro in 2018.
Monbat shares erased 2.31% of their value in the two trading sessions after the publication of its financial statement and ended at 6.35 levs on Friday. The company's shares are currently 1.55% down year-to-date.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)