Sales level with last year

The Maxeda Group of the Netherlands has announced first-half figures (February to July) for its DIY division. These reveal that its DIY stores in the Netherlands (Praxis and Formido) and in Belgium (Brico and Brico Plan-It) achieved net sales of € 755 mio. This amounts to growth of 0.13 per cent on the same period last year. The group reveals a 5 per cent increase in EBITDA to € 84 mio. The number of DIY stores came to 344 at the end of the first half of the current 2008/09 financial year, or 6 more than last year.