JUMBO: Improvement of Sales and Profits in a complicated international environment

JUMBO: Improvement of Sales and Profits in a complicated international environment
 

* Sales +18.27%
 

* EBITDA +21.07%
 

* Net Profit +23.86%
 

* Gross Margin 48.25%
 

According to the financial statements of the first quarter of the new financial year (July 2007-September 2007) sales increased by 18.27% and there was a spectacular further increase of profitability by 23.86%. The constant improvement of productivity of Jumbo stores and the improvement of margins, the moment where the Jumbo stores continue offering the better relation between price and product to thousands of customers, constitute the main elements of differentiation of Group from all other retailers. It is important to point that the increase of sales but also in profitability was achieved without the opening of new shops and despite the deceleration of turnover by the catastrophic fire in the shop of Kolonos that suspended its operation for one month. The constant improvement of gross margin from 47.93% to 48.25% the pre tax margin improvement from 18.45% to 19.42% and the net margin improvement form 14.15% to 14.82% are evidences of the Group’s productivity. JUMBO continues to carry at the bottom line the benefits from its policy of supplies, financing and pricing of products in a particularly complex international economic environment that includes revaluation of Chinese Yuan, increase of cost of money in China, increase of cost of row materials and transports and delays in shipments due to the overheating of the Chinese economy. Today, the company operates 39 Jumbo stores of which 16 are situated in Attica, 21 in the Greek province and 2 in Cyprus. Until December the company will introduce a new hyper store at the North side of Attica region, Varibobi and the first store in Balkans in Sofia, Bulgaria. The management, in the medium-term, targets to increase its market share above 38% and this will be achieved with new capital investments of € 150 millions in the next three years. The management, as a result of the exceptional performance of the Group, will propose at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders the distribution of 32 eurocents dividend per share an increase of 39% against last year.