Egyptian ceramics firm, Lecico, reported in a statement released on Monday a net loss of 3.0 million Egyptian pounds ($0.5 million) in the third quarter of 2011.
Lecico made a net profit of 30.9 million pounds in the same period a year ago.
Revenue fell 6 per cent to 239.2 million pounds.
The firm said there had been shrinking demand for sanitary ware in Europe and the Middle East this year. The third quarter drop in sales prices was due to weakness in exchange rates and strikes that hurt production, the company said.
"European economic crisis and political instability in MENA markets will undoubtedly continue to hamper Lecico’s short- to medium-term prospects," Beltone Financial, a leading Cairo-based investment bank, stated in a note issued Tuesday.
"Earnings visibility is definitely very weak at the moment, as FY2012 has a good chance of remaining a tough year for the company, driven by uncertainty in consumer confidence in Europe, instability in the region and legislative risk in Egypt," the bank added.
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