The gross margin on net sales before carve-out charges declined by 0.9 percentage points in the period under review, down from 26.6% in Q1 2007/2008 to 25.7% in the first three months of fiscal 2008/2009.

Research and development expenses rose by €1 million to €24 million (previous year: €23 million), a 4% increase compared with the same period a year ago. The R&D ratio was 3.7% (previous year: 3.8%).

Selling, general and administration expenses including other operating income and expenses amounted to €86 million (previous year: €85 million). This moderate increase in relation to net sales growth was mainly attributable to the Group-wide “ProImprove” program, which forms the basis for efficient cost management. Calculated in relation to net sales, the selling, general and administration expense ratio was driven down by 0.8 percentage points to 13.3% (previous year: 14.1%).