In the black, thanks to Max Bahr alone

Provisional figures reveal that Praktiker increased net group sales in the recently completed 2007 financial year by 24.8 per cent to € 3.95 bn. As a consequence of the acquisition of Max Bahr, the group experienced an increase of 25.5 per cent to € 2.86 bn in Germany. Sales of the Praktiker brand dropped in like-for-like terms by 3.6 per cent in 2007. Sales abroad totalled € 1.08 bn, which amounts to 23.0 per cent more (+11.4 per cent like-for-like) than the previous year. Group sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 rose by 22.1 per cent to € 904 mio. The growth of 23.5 per cent to € 615 mio in Germany was solely due to the unprecedented contribution to sales made by Max Bahr. A like-for-like sales decline of 8.3 per cent was recorded for the Praktiker brand in Germany. Sales achieved in the foreign markets grew by 19.3 per cent in the fourth quarter to € 289 mio (+6.3 per cent like-for-like).