We had expected GEA’s Q1 revenue and profit numbers to be down, but we had not expected profits to collapse. While order inflow was up by 1% to €1.14bn, sales fell by 6.5% to €941m. EBIT was down by 13% to €59m, pre-tax earnings fell by 24% to €42m, and net profit by 15% to €34m. In addition, negative cash from operations (based on management’s definition) increased by 20% to -€85m.
