Profit before interest and tax, or EBIT, fell close to zero levels, from EUR470,000 in the first three months of 2010, due to higher production costs, Sarantis said.
Romania is Sarantis’ third-largest market by sales, after Greece and Poland.
Worldwide, Sarantis reported first-quarter sales of EUR49.6 million, down 0.4% on the year, while the group’s EBIT fell 46% to EUR2.06 million.
Apart from Romania, the group has activities in Poland, Bulgaria, Serbia, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Hungary, Ukraine and Turkey.
Sarantis started operations in Romania in 1996, when it bought Romsar Cosmetics (later Sarantis Romania). The company’s product portfolio includes cosmetics, fragrances, homecare and car products, pet food and food supplements.
In 2007, the Greek group paid EUR6.5 million for the local cosmetics producer Elmiplant.