Athens, Greece
April 3, 2006
Spirou House of Agriculture AEBE released financial results
for 2005.
The profits after tax of the
mother company reached the level of 3.1 million € in 2005
compared to 0.2 million € in 2004, and the sales for 2005 also
showed a slight increase from 16.2 million € in 2004 to 16.3
million € in 2005.
The consolidated sales for the
year 2005 increased to 18.7 million € compared to 17.4 million €
in 2004. Losses after tax decreased from 1.9 million € in 2004,
to 1.6 million € in 2005.
Losses up to now are due to
expenses incurred by subsidiary companies for the research and
development of new products, which were not followed by the
proportionate sales of the years 2004 and 2005. For the year
2006, it is estimated that due to increased sales in the
international markets, the results will be favorable.
Upon completion of the year 2005,
the group achieved the goals it had set. It achieved the
development of sales in the international markets of new and
improved proprietary products, which were the result of in-house
research and development.
The group’s strategic goal
includes its development in the international markets, while at
the same time maintaining and expanding its leading position in
the Greek market.
The development of new products
and market shares in the international markets, consists of an
endeavor that started many years ago and is still in progress.
The results of this effort have been evident by the growth of
the international sales last year. The pace of development in
these markets in the following years is expected to be rapid and
the group will claim substantial market shares.
According to the business plan,
the goal for the next 5 years is to be able to enter into two
new markets every year. For 2005 those were Spain and Italy,
while for 2006, the target is the market of Iran and Egypt.
Simultaneously, over the last two
years, the restructuring of the company’s operation was
completed successfully, so as to support the transition from a
commercial activity applying mainly to the Greek market to an
integrated operation (research and development- production –
marketing and sales), which aims to support the expansion in the
greater Mediterranean area.
A new center for research and
development started its operation in 2005 in Egypt, aiming to
support the markets of Middle East and North Africa. At the
beginning of 2006, one more research and development center
began operating in Bulgaria with a purpose to support the
markets in the Balkans and East Europe.
Both new centers, in parallel with the existing centers in
Greece and in Turkey are expected to support the commercial
development of the greater area of the Mediterranean. With the
above structure, from a research point of view, the Group
establishes itself in a highly competitive manner at an
international level and worthily claims significant market
shares.
The management believes that the group now has
the basis for significant growth, starting from the current year
of 2006 and beyond. As far as the dividend sharing for the year
2005, the suggestion of the management is to retain the existing
dividend policy at 0.04€ per share. |
