Appreciably increased earnings

Ace Hardware, an American dealer-owned cooperative, achieved a 34.3 per cent increase of net income to US $ 14.4 mio. By contrast, total revenues decreased by 2.2. per cent to US $ 851.2 mio. According to the organisation, sales abroad went down by US $ 7.3 mio compared with the same period last year. This was mainly the result of weaker sales in the Middle East and Asia. At the end of the quarter there were 4 558 stores operating under the Ace banner, following 40 new openings and 63 store closures.