German ATM maker Wincor Nixdorf, the subject of takeover speculation, swung to a third-quarter operating loss as the company undergoes a heavy restructuring.

The group said on Thursday it had booked a fiscal third-quarter adjusted loss before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) of €7 million, compared with a €23 million profit in the same period last year.

That was better than the average expectation for a €13.7 million loss.

The company said it booked €27 million of restructuring expenses in the third quarter.

Wincor Nixdorf is in the process of cutting 12 per cent of its workforce as it tries to cope with deteriorating business in Russia and China, sluggish recovery in European investment spending and falling hardware prices.

It also plans to spin off its cashless payments unit.

The company said it still expects full-year EBITA to reach €100 million, excluding restructuring expenses of €80 million.

Sources told Reuters last month that US peer Diebold was planning a possible acquisition of Wincor, but the German firm's management said it was not interested in being acquired.

"The issue of industry consolidation has been a matter of debate for many years. I do not wish to inflame the discussion by adding statements on it from our point of view," Wincor Nixdorf's chief executive Eckard Heidloff said on Thursday.

Reuters