Thessaloniki, September 29th, 2017
Press release for the financial results of ELGEKA Group for the first semester of 2017
During the first half of 2017, ELGEKA Group achieved to present a significant further improvement in its financial figures, as a result of the drastic decisions it has taken and the extensive actions it has realized in recent years and continues to carry out at all levels of its operational activity.
Through the implementation of its core business strategy, ELGEKA Group manages:
- To enrich its product portfolio, retaining in this manner its sales at a steady level, despite the continued shrinking of the domestic market,
- To improve its product portfolio of sales, by increasing the participation of products with higher profit margins,
- To continuously reduce its operating costs by cutting expenses that do not contribute to creation of added value and by proceeding to new partnerships in order to operate more efficiently,
- To reduce provisions for doubtful debts by applying a particularly rigorous credit policy in recent years.
In addition, ELGEKA Group continued its disengagement from activities that are not part of the core of its traditional operations, completing during the current six months period the sale of its participation in “ARIVIA S.A.”. Through this action, the Group has achieved to gain significant and multi-level benefits:
- strengthened its capital adequacy, as from the sale resulted a profit of € 3.842 thousand, a fact which resulted to the increase by the same amount of its Equity,
- ensured the inflow of a significant consideration (€ 20.000 thousand), which is expected to contribute decisively to the rationalization of its borrowing as well as to make it long-term,
- ensured working capital that will support the smooth implementation of his business plan,
- allows the Group to concentrate its resources on its core and traditional sectors of activity, namely trade of consumer goods and logistics services.
As a consequence of the above, consolidated turnover from continuing operations for the first half of 2017 amounted to 77,0 million euro compared to 77,3 million euro of the comparable period of 2016. The above mentioned actions had a consequence the improvement of gross profit margin to 17,0% against 16,6% of the first half of 2016, as well as the increase of EBITDA margin to 4,7% from 2,7%, resulting to the achievement of Earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from continuing operations of amount 3,6 million euro against 2,1 million euro of the comparable period, while Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) from the total operations of the Group reached the amount of 4,8 million euro against 3,6 million euro. The Loss before tax from continuing operations significantly decreased to 1,4 million euro against 4,5 million euro in the first half of 2016, while Results after tax and non-controlling interest amounted to profits of 3,2 million euro over loss of 4,2 million euro in the comparable period also due to the significant positive contribution from discontinued operations.
In the second half of 2017, the Group will continue to implement its business strategy seamlessly, intensifying its actions regarding the improvement of its product portfolio, decreasing its operating costs and optimizing the efficiency of its total operations. Finally, the completion of conversion its borrowing into long-term is expected to further improve its financial performance by reducing its financial costs and improving its financial flows. With its strategic actions, ELGEKA Group ensures that the improvement of its operational figures will continue, facing dynamically any adverse developments presented in the near future.
The Summary Financial Data and Information for the year 01.01.2017 – 30.06.2017, as well as the Interim Financial Statements of the same period, are available today Friday, September 29, 2017, in the Company’s website (www.elgeka.gr), as well as in Hellenic Exchanges Group’s website (www.helex.gr).
