Overall Assessment of Economic Position.
At the start of fiscal 2009/2010, Wincor Nixdorf cannot, as yet, see any fundamental improvement in the overall situation as it affects the market for IT solutions tailored to retail banks and retailers. The reluctance of many companies to invest will at first ease gradually depending on macroeconomic developments.
At the date of preparation of this Management Report, it is not possible to say with complete certainty whether and to what extent the continuing economic crisis will ease in 2010. Overall, however, Wincor Nixdorf has begun the new fiscal 2009/2010 on a stable footing with reduced debt and a higher equity ratio. The first quarter is likely to produce a year-on-year decline in net sales, given the excellent results we obtained in the first quarter of the preceding year and an economic situation that remains very difficult. It is hard to say what lies further ahead, although a somewhat clearer view should emerge, albeit slowly, over subsequent quarters. With economists predicting a slow and unsteady recovery in the wider economy, we anticipate further declines in net sales and operating profit (EBITA (Glossary) ) in fiscal 2009/2010, although no greater than those of the last fiscal year.
