JUMBO absorbed the VAT increase, The consumers insist on voting for JUMBO on a daily base….

JUMBO absorbed the VAT increase,
The consumers insist on voting for JUMBO on a daily base….
 

Jumbo group, the largest retail company of toys, baby, stationary and other relevant products in Greece, posted Q1 results for the financial year July 2010- June 2011, stating that consolidated sales reached EUR 116.47m from EUR 116.53m at the respective period last year, despite the fact that the back to school period was influenced by the irregularity of the truck drivers strike. The performance of the stores located in Greece was satisfactory taking into account the reduction of the sales was smaller than the expected one. The performance of the stores in Cyprus and in Bulgaria was outstanding. During the first quarter the Group opened a 15.000sqm store in Sofia, Bulgaria.
 

The management has taken the strategic decision to hold its product prices at the same levels despite the VAT increase in Greece. The gross margin for the Group was 46,66% from 48,60%. Consolidated EBITDA decreased by 9.8% y-o-y to EUR 24.25m from EUR 26.89m at the respective period last year. The net profits of Group amounted to EUR 16,63m from EUR 17,53m a decrease of 5.15% y-o-y due to better financial results.
 

In October the Group opened two new stores one in Preveza (Greece) of total surface 7.000sqm and one in Larissa (Greece) of total surface 8.000sqm. At the second quarter of the current financial year the Group will add three new stores; one in Larnaka (Cyprus) of total surface 11.000sqm., one in Sofia (Bulgaria) of total surface 15.000sqm and one in Ioannina (Greece) of total surface 9.000sqm. The six new stores are expected to contribute to the management’s effort to achieve the sales target 2% increase for the financial year 2010/2011.
 

Today, the Group operates 48 stores of which 43 are located in Greece, 2 in Cyprus and 3 in Bulgaria.