Jumbo: Another exceptionally good year in hand

Impressive is the increase of net profits after taxes by 41.5% for the Jumbo Group accounting statements, concerning the 9-month period (from July, 1, 2005 to March, 31, 2006) of the current financial year (July 1, 2005 – June, 30, 2006). The Group’s management describe the net profits after taxes for the said 9-month period, amounting to 33.85 million Euro, as «exceptionally good» and estimates that the astonishing improvement rate of the figures will remain unchanged up to the end of the current financial year, which closes in the end of June, since the 11-month period which has already elapsed and which included the Easter period, which is of great importance for the overall result, remained intensely growing. In particular, as per the International Accounting Standards, the Group’s accounting statements for the 9 months from July 2005 – March 2006 feature an impressive increase of the gross profit margin by 168 base points, which resulted in the sales increasing at a rate of 21.46% to 213.83 million Euro, and in the net profit before taxes improving by 33.14% to 47.56 million Euro. Iin combination with the decrease of tax rates, the above implies an improvement of the net profit after taxes by 41.52% to 33.86 million Euro against 23.92 million Euro of the previous relevant 9-month period. During the current financial year 2005-2006, the Jumbo stores’ network expanded by 4 new ultra-modern sales, and customer service sites, in Corfu (privately-owned), Patras (second store), Alexandroupolis and N. Ionia Attikis. Today the Group commands a powerful network of 41 retail sales points, of 261,350 m2 total surface. Appraising both the Group’s and the Parent Company’s results, the President and Managing Director of Jumbo Group, Mr. Apostolos Vakakis, noted the following: «The systematic collective effort of both the management and the employees resulted in this year’s exceptional profitability. The shareholders have every right to rejoice in the prospect of dividend rates and the overall course of the share’s price. During the last 5 years, our figures have been steadily increasing by double-digit percentages. We continue to regard our shareholders as participants and partners. We have thus to sensitize them to the possibility that the auspices for the following financial year will not be as prosperous as in the past. The consumers shall face both increased interest rates and inflationary pressures. The economic growth in the Eurozone countries is not yet the expected one. In the domestic market, the prospects may be better, but, within the two next years, the Jumbo Group will attempt an impressive qualitative jump, by creating 5 giant metropolitan hyper-stores in Attica basin. Due precisely to their size, the new investments shall be completed and will operate after at least 18 months, fact that leads the management to delimit the budget, for the following year, to +9-10% as regards the Group’s turnover, and to remain in cardinal numbers at the same levels with the current prospective high profitability».