Sales of LED products have jumped considerably for the Zumtobel Group in the first quarter of this year, with an increase of almost 50 per cent compared with the same period in 2012.
The group, which comprises Zumtobel, Thorn and Tridonic, saw overall revenues fall by 4.4 per cent, but operating earnings (adjusted EBIT) were up almost 48 per cent year-on-year to EUR 17.7 million, compared to EUR 12.6 million for the same three months in 2012.
Tridonic saw its first growth in seven quarters, with revenues for that division up 1.6 per cent to EUR 99.7 million from EUR 98.1 million in 2012. News from the lighting division however, which is comprised of Zumtobel and Thorn, was less positive, with revenues down from EUR 243 million in first quarter 2012 to EUR 229.9 million. The group said both had been "impacted by the disappointing development of the commercial construction sector".
Both divisions benefited from restructuring measures implemented in the previous year, "which focused on aligning cost structures with the lower level of revenues and on the ongoing development of the product portfolio", said the group. However, looking to the immediate future, it stated: "There are no signs of an easing in the current economic tensions".
