Gretags professional imaging division proved to be its only bright spot as the Swiss group announced plummeting sales and a heavy loss for the first six months of 2001.
Sales in professional imaging rose 13% to 37.8m (CHF91m), which the group attributed to the success of its Arizona 180 digital screen press and the LightJet 430 wide-format photo printer.
However, sales in consumer imaging fell 59%, due mainly to a collapse in US business. The group made a net loss of 63.2m.
The groups main customer, Qualex, had built up large stocks of Gretag minilabs last year, but when the US market slowed this year, last years sales became an encumbrance.
A spokesman said the group didnt expect any additional growth in professional imaging sales during the second half of the year.
But he said professional imaging had held up well in the US despite the economic downturn that had hurt consumer imaging.
Gretag said the cost structure it had built up in 2000 and resulting levels at the start of this year were based on unrealistic sales forecasts, forcing it to make sweeping cost-cutting measures. It admitted it had been wrong to focus solely on sales growth.
Staffing levels will fall to below 2,000 by the end of the year; at the start of 2001 it employed 2,800.
It is is also considering refinancing options to ensure its medium-term stability.
* Gretag is building on the success of the Arizona digital screen press by launching a low-cost, lower speed version of the Arizona 180 the Arizona 90. The press, which prints directly onto 3M films can be leased from 1,125 a month.
Contact: 01628 519588.
Story by Gordon Carson