Blidar: We sold more carriages, but at a lower price, hence the lower revenues

Businessman Valer Blidar, one of the most important Romanian industrialists, who controls Astra Vagoane Călători of Arad and set up Banca Comercială Feroviară, says the profit the passenger carriage manufacturer derived last year halved and turnover dropped by almost 14%.
"The increase we projected last year for Astra Vagoane Călători did not materialise because many tenders (for carriage procurement i.e.) were called off, while others were delayed, both in Romania and abroad," stated Blidar, who developed a group of companies in several fields with turnover worth several tens of million euros.
Astra Vagoane Călători ended last year with turnover put at 44.2m euros and net income estimated at 9.5m euros, according to the businessman's statements, Finance Ministry data and ZF calculations.
Blidar also accounts for the lower turnover by the fact that the price of carriages was lower than in 2009.
"We sold more carriages last year, but at a lower price and this is why revenues went down," said the entrepreneur, without specifying how many carriages he delivered in 2010 or the names of the clients.