Praktiker: continuing growth

According to the provisional figures available to date, Praktiker Bau- und Heimwerkermärkte Holding AG recorded group sales up by 4.2 per cent to € 3.16 bn in the recently completed financial year. Sales in Germany grew by 0.8 per cent to € 2.28 bn in spite of the closure of seven stores, and achieved an increase of 2.5 per cent (2005: + 0.7 per cent) in like-for-like terms. Sales abroad managed an increase of 14.4 per cent to € 0.88 bn, which amounts to growth of 6.2 per cent after adjusting for changes to retail area. This means that the international share of overall group sales increased to 27.8 per cent from 25.4 per cent in the previous year.
Group sales in the fourth quarter of 2006 rose by 3.4 per cent to € 0.74 bn. Like-for-like sales in Germany grew by 0.9 per cent and are put at € 0.50 bn. International sales grew by 13.6 per cent to € 0.24 bn in the fourth quarter, amounting to a like-for-like increase of 5.2 per cent.