Banks hold back on replacing old ATMs: Wincor Nixdorf

ATM manufacturer reports sales down, profits down, no sign of recovery as banks delay replacing old systems.

Net sales for Wincor Nixdorf dropped 6 percent from €646 million to €607 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2009/2010, while operating profit (EBITA) fell to €49 million or down 13 percent from the previous year's €56 million. Wincor Nixdorf President & CEO Eckard Heidloff cited the continued impact of the economic and financial crisis as the cause of the sales/profit decline.

Heidloff observed retail banks and retailers are investing in streamlining measures and process optimisation, although capital expenditure on new systems to replace older IT infrastructure is being put back. "In the short term at least we expect the worldwide environment to remain challenging. Developments in the market and in our business are still difficult to predict," he said.

In the Banking segment, the Group closed its first quarter with net sales down 8 percent at €419 million from €456 million during the same period of the preceding fiscal 2008/2009. Net sales in the Retail segment, on the other hand, recorded a year-on-year decrease of 1 percent to €188 million. Particularly in the Asia/Pacific/Africa region, net sales dropped 2 percent at €98 million for the said quarter.

Wincor Nixdorf's Hardware business reported a 13 percent decline in net sales from €373 million to €326 million for the first quarter of the current fiscal year. Heidloff said, "We anticipate that the fundamental trends within our field of business will remain unchanged. However, at the moment it is not possible to predict when this will be translated into renewed growth."

In the meantime Wincor Nixdorf has prepared for the challenges with its ProFuture program which aims to improve internal processes and the company's ability to perform successfully in its markets.