Losses for Baumax

Last year the Austrian DIY retailer Baumax suffered heavy losses. Both Baumax AG (Austrian business and holding company) and the Baumax Group – which consists of all the domestic and foreign subsidiaries in addition to Baumax AG, as well as associated companies – showed a balance sheet that was well into the red in 2011. The accounts of Baumax AG show a net loss of € 14.6 mio. This contrasts with the profit of € 18.4 mio that was achieved as recently as 2010. The year-end results for 2011 were adversely affected by unscheduled depreciation charges of around € 25 mio altogether in Hungary and Croatia. The group made a loss under the bottom line of € 57.2 mio (after a plus of € 1.5 mio). Sales of Baumax AG remained static at € 527.4 mio, though group sales rose to € 1.246 bn, having achieved € 1.220 bn in 2010.In 2011 the Austrian market leader received injections of capital from the Karlheinz und Agnes Essl private trust amounting to € 24.512 mio, and also from the Martin and Gerda Essl private trust in the order of some € 15.488 mio. Martin Essl is chairman of the Baumax board and his wife Gerda has a seat on the company’s supervisory board, as has Karlheinz Essl.