Minus in eastern Europe above all

Provisional figures reveal that the German Praktiker group of companies achieved net sales of around € 3.7 bn in the 2009 financial year. This means that the decline against the previous year amounted to 6.2 per cent (3.3 per cent at constant exchange rates). The company suffered particularly heavy losses in eastern Europe. Altogether the sales revenue generated by international business fell by 15.6 per cent to approximately € 1.05 bn. Foreign sales were down by 6.7 per cent when calculated in local currency.