High dividend policy, in an environment of ongoing uncertainty

The Extraordinary General Meeting was held today, with significantly increased participation representing approximately 79% of the total share capital.

The management of the Group took advantage of the opportunity of the shareholder’s assembly, to analyze its strategy.

In 2021, the Group's performance is expected to be significantly improved compared to 2020, due to the increase in sales by + 19.87% y-o-y, the defensive policy on the purchase of products and the management of the existing inventory. According to the published results of the first 6 months of 2021, the gross profit margin improved compared to the corresponding 6 months of 2020 and this trend has been maintained in the second half of 2021.

Although 2021 results is a success given the circumstances, growth in terms of sales and profitability for 2022 remains an objective.

The distortions in the supply chain and the increase in the cost of transport resulted in a significant part of the product mix to no longer be available on the shelves of JUMBO stores since the final price-quality relation is unfair to the consumer and for this reason it is automatically rejected.

In addition, there is no clear trend of the demand as it continues to be affected by the pandemic and by inflationary pressures. In this environment of intense uncertainty, the management aims to preserve the model towards the consumer in terms of the price-quality relation.

The strong position of the Group allows contributing to the effort of intercepting the wave of price increases and maintaining fair prices for consumers who are the driving force of the market.

At the same time, the management of the Group assured its shareholders-partners that as things stand today, the dividend policy of 2021 will be maintained in full for 2022 as well.

At the Extraordinary General Meeting, the shareholders approved the proposal of the management for the payment of extraordinary cash distribution for 2022 of a gross amount of 0,3850 EUR/ share, i.e. an amount equal to 50% of the total amount distributed in 2021.

The Group, taking advantage of its strong financial position, will continue to invest in its energy independence, the green economy and the development of its store network.

More specifically:
  •  In 2021, the three-year plan for the replacement of conventional lamps with LED lamps for 19 buildings in Greece and Cyprus was completed.
  • In 2021, the three-year plan for the installation of photovoltaic systems for self-consumption in 28 building installations in Greece and Cyprus started with a power that is expected to exceed 9,7MW.
So far, two projects have been completed in Cyprus, with a total capacity of 1,29MW. The total production of the two systems is expected to exceed 1,916.78MWh and reduced Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions by 1,369 tons per year.

Regarding the expansion of the network in 2022, a new store is expected to operate in Greece (approximately 10.000 sq.m.) and a store in Cyprus (approximately 13.000 sq.m.). Also, towards the end of the year, two new stores will open in Romania, one in the city of Iasi (approximately 16.000 square meters) and one in the city of Sibiu (approximately 15.000 square meters).

As of December 31, 2021, the Group operated 81 stores. The 52 are in Greece, 5 in Cyprus, 9 in Bulgaria and 15 in Romania.

In addition, the online store www.e-jumbo.gr operates in Greece and Cyprus.

Through partnerships, the Group has a presence with 30 stores under the JUMBO brand, in 6 countries (Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Northern Macedonia, Bosnia and Montenegro). In 2022, the first store under the JUMBO brand in Israel is expected to open.