Earnings in double figures

Gardena of Ulm has reported sales down by 4 per cent to € 393.3 mio in the 2004/05 financial year. However, at the same time the company increased its EBIT by 14.3 per cent to € 45.5 mio. According to the report, the drop in sales was the result of streamlining the product ranges, and weather-induced downswings in the garden irrigation and pump categories in the major markets of central Europe including Germany and France. By contrast, Gardena achieved sales growth of 9 per cent with garden tools.