Analyze the sentiment of this statement extracted from a financial news article. Provide your answer as either negative, positive, or neutral.
Text: Based on the first quarter result , existing order backlog and new order prospects , the company expects that full-year sales will contract by 25 % from 2008 , the gross margin will stay at a healthy level , and the operating profit margin will be lower than in 2008 due to lower sales volume .
Answer:
negative