MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - Telecoms equipment supplier Adtran Networks (formerly Adva Optical) reported significantly lower sales and earnings in the third quarter due to weak demand. Sales fell by almost a fifth to just under 146 million euros, the SDax-listed company announced in Munich on Tuesday. Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell by just over a quarter to 8.7 million euros. The development is not unexpected, as CEO Tom Stanton had already announced weak business in the second half of the year in the summer and had also sharply lowered the sales and profit forecast at the time. This forecast has now been confirmed with the presentation of the figures for the third quarter.

"Our results in the third quarter were in line with our expectations. We assume that the uncertainty among our customers will continue into 2024," said Stanton.

will continue," said Stanton. However, thanks to its strong market position, he believes the company is well equipped to benefit from network expansion when customers return to normalized investment behavior. In the current year, the Adtran CEO expects a decline in sales in the high single-digit to low double-digit percentage range. He did not issue a concrete profit forecast in the summer, but only made a statement on the margin. According to this, the operating result will fall significantly in the current year.

Adtran Networks has been part of the US group Adtran Holdings for some time. The US group is also listed on the SDax due to the takeover. Adtran Holdings presented detailed figures for the third quarter on Tuesday night. The US company also announced that it will generate significantly lower sales and earnings in the fourth quarter than previously expected by experts./zb/stk