Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) stood at EUR 20.8m, up 29% year-on-year, while pre-tax profit was up 78% compared to the first quarter of 2013, to EUR 10.2m.

The group generated EUR 290.7m in revenues in the first quarter, up 0.5% year-on-year. The core business generated EUR 242.4m in sales, an increase of 1% year-on-year, the company said.

"The operating results for the first quarter point to a turnaround, which is in line with our plans," Gorenje CEO Franjo Bobinac commented on the results.

According to Gorenje, a new restructuring programme, which included relocation of production and restructuring of the sales network, contributed to the positive result in the first quarter.

Gorenje supervisors were acquainted with the results at Thursday's session, when they also confirmed Bobinac's proposal to expand the management board to five members.

Petar Kukovica will join the board on Monday as the member in charge of logistics, quality, IT and organisation. Before joining Gorenje as advisor last year, Kukovica was the director of capacitor maker Iskra Sistemi.

The supervisors also confirmed the management's proposal that EUR 1.37m in distributable profit remain undistributed given the fact that the company posted a EUR 25m loss last year.