Press Release of the General Meeting
The General Assembly of Jumbo shareholders has decided today on the distribution of increased dividends of 0,23 Euro per share. The total amount of 13,9 million Euro due for distribution that corresponds to 35% of profit after taxes, is by 25% higher compared to the dividend distributed in the previous economic year. In the duration of the General Assembly, the President and Managing Director Mr. Apostolos Vakakis disclosed the fact that during the first 5 months of the new economic year, the rates of sale increase as well as the profitability are developing in an impressive way. However, the dramatic condition of the ports of the country throughout the recent month may cause an interruption of this extremely positive course. The side effects caused by lack of action on the side of the State in front of the condition of the ports – catastrophic for retail sale – in case the present situation is going to continue, will definitely create significant deficiencies in the domain of product supplies that might have an impact on the turnover of the Group. The General Assembly of the shareholders has approved of the issue of a new Bond Loan amounting to 125 million Euro, of 7 year duration that will refinance the existing loan obligations of the Group as well as the increased needs in the circulating capitals. It is important to point out the fact that The Group Jumbo is in the position to undertake a loan of exceptionally low interest rate corresponding to the spread lower than 1%, over the interest rates of The European Central Bank. The exceptionally low loaning cost is due to increased credibility of the Group and to systematic and strong improvement of its sizes in the duration of recent years… The future initiatives of the Group include the creation of 5 big metropolitan department stores in Attica within the next 36 months and increasing the density of peripheral network of the department stores in the areas where investment opportunities in land acquisition arise. As for the Balkan area, the preparations are continuously made for the operation of the first JUMBO department store in Sofia, which completion has been programmed within the year 2007, while there have been started procedures concerning the creation of the second department store in the capital of Bulgaria … At the same time, within the year 2007, there will be completed the investment program amounting to 20 million Euro aimed at acquisition of land in the developing economies of Bulgaria and Romania that will become members of European Union on 01.01.2007. The basic objective of the management remains the systematic improvement of all the economic sizes of the Group without any exceptions and sudden changes…