The Belgian GIB group announces increased sales and operating profit for its DIY division
Sales grew by 0.9 per cent to € 453.4 mio in Belgium. During the period under consideration one unprofitable franchise store was closed, four stores were renovated and three extended. Sales growth of more than 15 per cent is reported for the renovated stores.
The AKI stores in Spain achieved a 17 per cent increase in sales to € 142.7 mio, which came to 9.5 per cent like-for-like. Following one new opening the group had 18 DIY stores at the end of the year, including one franchised outlet. The sales of the AKI branches in Portugal grew by 18.6 per cent to € 97.9 mio. New stores were inaugurated at Porto and Leiria, which increased the number of outlets to twelve.
A 1.7 per cent drop in sales to € 191.6 mio was disclosed for Obi, the French marketing arm with its 37 stores. The group attributes this mainly to the fire at the St. Etienne central warehouse in February of 2001.
The operating profit of the DIY division rose by 22 per cent to € 28.1 mio, which can chiefly be put down to cost cutting in Belgium, France and Portugal in addition to better buying conditions in all four countries.