Sales increase of 10.63% for the nine months

Jumbo group the largest retail company of toys, baby, stationary and other relevant products in Greece announces the sales for the nine months of the current financial year (July 2009-June 2010) which includes the sales of the Greek Orthodox Easter.
 

In the first half of the current financial year sales grew by 5,8% y-o-y. In the third quarter sales were increased by 27% y-o-y approximately and had a positive effect in the group’s sales growth which reached 10,63% y-o-y in the nine months of the current financial year. The Greek Orthodox Easter sales had a positive effect in the third quarter of the current financial year while last year sales of the Easter period divided between third and fourth quarter. Consequently, nine months results are not directly comparable with last year’s nine months results.
 

The company estimates that at the last quarter of the current financial year there will be a correction of the sales growth as last year included the sales of the Easter period. As a result the company estimates that sales and earnings before taxes will grow in the current financial year (July 2009 – June 2010) by approximately 3%.
 

In a difficult macroeconomic environment that is expected to effect negatively the performance of existing stores record, the opening of two hyperstores in Bulgaria, one in Cyprus and three in Greece is expected to effect positively and to counterbalance the lost turnover and to contribute to the positive of growth of sales for the 2010/2011. The company has taken the strategic decision not to proceed in price increases due to the increase of the VAT to 21% or due to the strengthening of the USD against the Euro by 11% making use of the reserves that strategically holds at its central warehouse. These decisions are expected to influence the results and the company’s management estimates that the turnover growth for the financial year (July 2010 - June 2011) will remain positive, in line with the growth of the current financial year (3%) while the net profits of the Group for the financial year (July 2010 - June 2011) will come back approximately to the levels of profitability of the financial year 2007/2008.