(Recasts with analyst comments, share price)
By Emese Bartha
BUDAPEST, May 15 (Reuters) - Commercial vehicle maker Raba , one of Hungary's leading industrial exporters, slumped to a first-quarter loss, more than double what the market had expected, prompting calls for crisis action.
Analysts said on Thursday that Raba would not now be able to meet its earlier plans to break even at the operating level this year, and the new board, brought in last month, said in a statement it would announce emergency measures next month.
Raba reported an after-tax loss of 2.17 billion forints ($10.20 million) for January-March compared with a profit of 297 million a year earlier. Analysts had predicted a loss of 806 million forints.
Revenue fell to 7.2 billion forints from 11.29 billion, with flat sales in the United States, Raba's key export market. European sales were higher, but Asia and the Middle East were hit hard, with sales shrinking to virtually nothing.
"The company's earlier plans now probably can't be met," Inter-Europa Bank said in a comment.
Raba shares, up more than 10 percent this year, lost 10 forints, or 0.97 percent, to 1,020 forints by late morning.
U.S. STABILISING
Raiffeisen Securities said the results were "unqualifiably weak", with total exports down by 40 percent and more losses on financial hedging deals. The broker said the share price would suffer in the short-term.
The company said it had been operating in "an automotive industrial recession", further exacerbated by the weak economy.
Raba was also hit by a near 20 percent strengthening of the forint against the dollar, which damaged sales and operating results.
The company said the U.S. market was stabilising after a cyclical decline, but any upturn was only likely to come in the second half of the year.
U.S. sales dropped to $10.7 million from $11.1 million a year earlier, with heavy truck sales falling by 9.4 percent.
Asia and Middle East sales shrank to $0.2 million from $9.1 million as bus axle deliveries to Iran failed to materialise.
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