Heavier losses abroad

The building materials and DIY division of the Finnish trading group Kesko recorded sales of € 179.5 mio in November, or 11.6 per cent less than in the same period last year. The company says that the 9.9 per cent drop to € 75.9 mio in Finland is due to a falling-off of its contractor and agricultural business. It reports sales abroad totalling € 103.7 mio, which represents a decline of 12.8 per cent in constant currency. Sales in the Baltic states have fallen by 40.7 per cent, and in Russia by 21.6 per cent. Altogether the division’s sales of € 2.1973 bn from January to November are 23.2 per cent below last year’s level.