Vienna - Austrian company AT&S, the leading producer of printed circuit boards in Europe, said Thursday its first quarter net income dropped 46 per cent to 5 million euros (7.9 million dollars), down from 9.2 million euros in the same period last year.
Seasonal factors and a difficult market environment, combined with a weak US dollar and wage increases contributed to the results, the company said in its report.
Pre-tax profits were down 42 per cent to 5.3 million euros. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) fell to 5.6 million euros, 22 per cent less than 7.8 million euros in the first quarter of 2007.