Continente profits flat after Simago buy

Eurofood,  Dec 3, 1998  

• E-mail
• Print
• Link

Continente, the Spanish food retail group, has reported consolidated net profits of Pta5.9bn (ECU35.4m) for the first nine months of the year, just 1% higher than in the same period last year. The company, owned by France's Promodes group, said the relatively poor profit performance was due to the recent acquisition of the Simago chain, as sales for the period had shown a healthy 22% rise to Pta400.2bn. Like-for-like sales (excluding Simago) were up 10% at Pta361.3bn.

The amortisation of part of Simago's goodwill and assets and lower gains on the sale of assets were the main factors which reduced profits during the nine-month period, Continente said. Exceptional gains in the first nine months of 1997 reached Pta1.4bn as a result of the sale of a Madrid office unit, but this year's figure -- produced by the sale of a shopping centre in Barcelona -- was just half that. The impact of the amortisation was Pta1.3bn, and is estimated at Pta2bn for the year as a whole. Without these items, Continente said that consolidated pre-tax profits would have risen by 35%.

COPYRIGHT 1998 Agra Europe Ltd.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group