Karstadt made 34 mln euro net loss in fiscal H1

FRANKFURT, Germany - Struggling German department store retailer Karstadt made a net loss of 34 million euros ($46 million) in the first half of its 2013/2014 fiscal year, German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Sunday, citing an internal report.

In the comparable period the year before, Karstadt posted a net loss of 35 million euros, the report said.

Sales in the first half of Karstadt's fiscal year, which starts in October, declined by 3.9 percent to 1.413 billion euros, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) reached 25 million euros, compared with 24 million a year earlier.

Karstadt was not immediately available for comment.

Karstadt was taken over by billionaire businessman Nicolas Berggruen in 2010 but unions and local media have accused him of not investing enough, allowing rival Kaufhof to steal market share, stoking speculation of an eventual merger of the two even though Kaufhof's owner Metro has ruled it out.

Business monthly Manager Magazin in March reported the company made a net loss of 127 million euros in the 2012/2013 fiscal year, citing unnamed board sources.

$1 = 0.7336 Euros