EPS specialist Hirsch Servo (Glanegg / Austria; www.hirsch-gruppe.com) has reported operating earnings (EBIT) down by 90% year-on-year at EUR 473,000 for the 2007/2008 financial year ended 30 June 2008. Sales fell by 4.5% to EUR 100m. The poor performance was due in part to company’s the machinery manufacturing technology segment, which reported its lowest revenues for nine years and an operating loss of EUR 3.1m, compared with a profit of EUR 2.6m in the previous year. Debt increased 15% to EUR 61m over the year and investment was halved to EUR 10m. The EPS processing business increased sales by 17% to almost EUR 81m, packaging sales increased 12% year-on-year to EUR 37.3m, while insulation sales increased 21% to EUR 43.5m.

Hirsch Servo has responded to the poor performance by replacing CFO Carsten Brinkmeier before the end of his term of office. He was succeeded on 1 November 2008 by Andreas Zois. The group expects EBIT to return to the 2006/2007 level of around EUR 5m in the present financial year.