LUXEMBOURG (dpa-AFX) - Low prices for zinc and high treatment and refining charges are thwarting the profit plans of industrial recycler Befesa. Operating profit adjusted for special effects (adjusted Ebitda) is likely to reach only around 180 million euros this year due to the burdens, the MDax-listed company announced in Luxembourg on Thursday. Previously, management had held out the prospect of 200 to 230 million euros. The new forecast is still below the expectations of analysts, who had last expected an average of 192 million euros. Befesa CEO Javier Molina expects things to improve in 2024: Many of the recent burdens should then be reversed.

In the third quarter, Befesa achieved sales of just under 289 million euros, almost eight percent more than a year earlier. However, adjusted operating profit fell by around eight percent to 42 million euros. In addition, the ramp-up of some plants had an expensive impact as a special effect, causing net income to slump by 80 percent year-on-year to a good seven million euros./stw/jha/