Agfas third-quarter results suffered heavily due to the effect of the terrorist attacks in September and subsequent economic slowdown.

Revenues for the month dropped by 15% compared to last year, which is expected to reduce the firms profits.

It estimates that earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) excluding restructuring and non-recurring expenses will reach around 28m (e45m) for the quarter.

"We havent made as much money this quarter as expected, but were still profitable, just not as profitable as last year," said UK director graphic systems Laurence Roberts.

The company said that unless economic conditions improved significantly in the short term it would not reach its forecasts for sales and earnings.

Agfa has also stated that it expects to make a net loss this year as it is taking the majority of the 344m costs associated with its recently announced restructuring programme, Horizon (PrintWeek, 5 October).

In the UK the firm experienced a dip in sales at the end of September, but says figures for October are strong. The majority of its problems are claimed to stem from the US, which accounts for 20% of revenue and has slowed down considerably with many firms putting a complete freeze on capital equipment spending.

The actual third-quarter results will be released on 22 November.

Story by Barney Cox