BERGISCH-GLADBACH (dpa-AFX) - The investment company Indus Holding has posted significantly lower sales and earnings in the first three months of the year due to the difficult business environment. The SDax company nevertheless confirmed its forecast for the year; Indus had previously expected headwinds in the first quarter. The share nevertheless came under pressure on Tuesday.

The Indus share lost 1.8 percent to 27.35 euros in early trading. However, the share has still gained around 22 percent in value since the beginning of the year. Compared to five years ago, however, it is still down by more than 38 percent.

Indus announced in Bergisch-Gladbach on Tuesday that turnover had fallen by almost a tenth to 410 million euros at the start of the year due to customers' reluctance to buy and invest against the backdrop of the weakening economy. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) plummeted by 40 percent to just under 27 million euros in the first quarter. At the bottom line, Indus earned around 10 million euros, a good third less than a year ago.

"As we had planned, the difficult macroeconomic conditions are reflected in the development of our Group at the beginning of the year," said Group CEO Johannes Schmidt according to the press release. "We had already taken these economic challenges into account in our planning. We are therefore sticking to our forecast for the year as a whole." Accordingly, the portfolio companies expect an economic recovery and significantly stronger business in the second half of the year.

For the 2024 financial year, Indus continues to expect sales of between 1.85 and 1.95 billion euros and an operating result (EBIT) of 145 to 165 million euros. Indus is also planning acquisitions of EUR 70 million in the current year. In 2023, the company had a turnover of 1.8 billion euros and an operating profit of just under 150 million euros.

Indus Holding focuses on companies in the German-speaking SME sector. According to its own information, Indus acquires two to three technology-oriented industrial technology companies per year in the Engineering, Infrastructure and Materials segments. The holding company owns 44 operationally independent investments./lfi/niw/stk