Higher growth in domestic market

DIY stores belonging to Germany’s Hornbach Group increased their sales in the third quarter of fiscal 2014/2015 (1 September to 30 November 2014) by 3.4 per cent to € 815 mio and in the first nine months by 6.8 per cent to € 2.67 bn compared with the same periods in the previous year. On a like-for-like basis and net of currency items, sales increased by 1.0 per cent in the third quarter and cumulatively by 4.9 per cent over the nine months.The DIY stores in Germany once again proved the growth driver, increasing sales in the period from September to November 2014 by 4.5 per cent to € 477 mio. Like-for-like sales in the same period were up by 1.4 per cent. Domestic sales in the first nine months increased by 8.2 per cent to € 1.561 bn, with like-for-like sales up by 6.5 per cent.Third-quarter sales in the rest of Europe rose by 1.9 per cent to € 337 mio and sales over the first nine months of fiscal 2014/2015 by 4.8 per cent to € 1.109 bn. On a like-for-like basis and net of currency items, sales outside Germany increased by 0.6 per cent in the third quarter and cumulatively after nine months by 2.6 per cent.