Carrefour banner boosts Hyparlo results
the Carrefour banner at home and in Romania helped Hyparlo to a
solid performance in 2002.
The continued strength of the Carrefour fascia helped boost sales at Hyparlo, one of the main franchise operators of the French retail group, in 2002. The company also reported strong results from its burgeoning international business.
The company operates 14 hypermarkets under the Carrefour fascia, 12 in France and two in Romania. It recently sold its Italian business to Carrefour.
Operating profits for the year improved by 45 per cent to €22.1 million, while net profits rose by 55 per cent to €14.7 million, helped by a one-off gain of €5.5 million as a result of the sale of the Italian business. Turnover for the year was ahead 4.4 per cent to just over €1.1 billion.
With a much improved financial structure following the sale of the Italian unit (which made a loss in the previous year), Hyparlo will now concentrate on strengthening its position in France while developing its Romanian unit. The group is planning to invest some €12 million in doubling the size of its store in Orange, southern France, while work will begin later this year on a third store in Bucharest.
With the €20 million on-off gain from the sale of its Italian unit, Hyparlo is now debt-free, making it easier for the group to raise the necessary capital to expand its business. The current year should see a further substantial improvement in profits despite the uncertain economic environment, the group said.
