Altex makes 137m euros in H1

The electronics and home appliances retailer Altex has posted sales of 137 million euros (including VAT) for the first half of the year, more than twice the level in the same period in 2004, a company release shows.

Altex reported more than 60 million euros in sales for the first six months last year.

“The controlled increase in our chain, together with a maintaining of cost parameters, has enabled Altex to achieve performance levels that match European standards,” the company chairman, Dan Ostahie, said.

Altex”s first-half performance was also helped by the growth in the sales on the ITC segment, which were nearly 10 times higher than for the first six months of 2004.

The company says sales grew by more than 100% at a time when overall market growth was only 10-15%.

Altex intends to continue to improve its results in the second half of the year, explained Ostahie, excepting the summer period, which normally experiences a fall in sales.

The company expects full-year turnover of more than 330 million euros.

“The second half of 2005 will also see the first greenfield projects, something which has never been seen before in Romania in our sector,” Ostahie said.

Altex is one of the most important retailers of electronics and home appliances on the domestic market, together with Flanco and Domo.

They opened 16 megastore-type stores during the first six months of this year, as well as a large Media Galaxy store.

The company is also pursuing regional expansion in Serbia, Bulgaria, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

ionut.bonoiu@zf.ro