By: E&P Staff Metro International reported that net sales increased 10% to $102.5 million in Q1 compared to the same period last year.
The company said it lost $11.5 million in the quarter compared with $3.9 million in same quarter a year ago.
?The first quarter is a seasonally weak quarter for Metro International and is usually loss making,? said Pelle T?rnberg, president and CEO of Metro International, in a statement. ?However Q1 2007 results reflect the disappointing performance in some of our key markets, such as Sweden, Spain, France, and U.S. We also increased HQ and online investment, and increased circulation 10% over the quarter.?
?The U.S. market,? T?rnberg said, ?underperformed our expectations due to tough local market conditions.?
The company cited a loss of sales staff and ?inadequate management focus? in Sweden and that it is in the process of overhauling Swedish operations.
In Spain, price pressures in Madrid affected the company. The company said in France it was impacted by circulation increases and soft advertising.
The company expects that investments in online will help boost results later in the year.
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