FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Shares of Varta have laboriously stabilized on Monday after the quarterly report at the lowest level since 2018. After a weaker start at 19.10 euros, the papers of the battery manufacturer turned slightly upward to 19.57 euros by midday. It remains an annual loss of 13 percent, after they had already slumped by 80 percent in the previous year.

On the high of the low targets, the group has closed the first quarter, said analyst Philipp Konig of Goldman Sachs. In the CoinPower division, with its lithium-ion button cells for wireless headsets, for example, there was no recovery in sight, he said. Apple, the main customer, has cut back demand significantly, he said. Varta is trying to counteract this with reduced capacities and, in the short term, also with short-time work, in order to keep costs in check./ag/jha/