The gross margin on net sales in the first quarter of the fiscal year declined by 2.7 percentage points in the period under review, down from 25.1% in the previous year to 22.4% in the first three months of fiscal 2011/2012.
Research and development costs fell by €4 million to €22 million (previous year: €26 million), down 15% on last year’s first-quarter figure. The R&D ratio stood at 3.6% (previous year: 4.1%).
Selling, general and administration expenses, including other operating income and expenses, were scaled down by 10% or €8 million to €74 million in total (previous year: €82 million) during the reporting period. As a percentage of total net sales, the selling, general and administration expense ratio fell by 0.7 percentage points to 12.2% (previous year: 12.9%).
