Sales slightly down

At € 2.7 bn, gross sales of the AVA marketing companies in the first six months of 2004 remained 0.3 per cent below the comparable figure for last year. Following a 1.2 drop in the marketing companies’ sales to € 1.27 bn in the first quarter of 2004, the figure experienced a 0.5 per cent improvement in the second quarter to € 1.42 bn. At € 534 mio, sales of the AVA DIY retail division (Marktkauf/Dixi) in the first six months of 2004 remained almost unchanged against the previous year’s € 535 mio (minus 0.1 per cent, like-for-like minus 2.2 per cent). According to the company, poor weather continued to have a negative influence on sales in the second quarter as well.