Croatia’s Magma 9-mo Revenue Falls 9.6% to 624.5 Mln Kuna (86 Mln Euro)

Total operating expenses fell by 4.9% to 684 million kuna in the first nine months, the company said in a statement posted on Zagreb Stock Exchange website.

"The reasons for the considerable decrease in sales should be sought in the lesser real purchasing power of citizens and exceptionally warm weather in September, which affected the sales of autumn clothing and footwear collections," Magma said in the statement.

It added that in Croatia, the decline in sales was also caused by political instability following the resignation of the former Prime Minister, as well as by the introduction of the so-called crisis tax and an increase in value added tax.

Magma (www.magma.hr) specialises in the retail and distribution of clothing, baby and household products through a company-owned store network. It is part of Magma grupa, which also includes the subsidiaries Magma B (Sarajevo), Magma International (Belgrade), Magma S (Ljubljana), Magma International Ltd. (Hong Kong) and Magma H Kft. (Hungary).

Magma’s shares were last traded on November 6, when they closed unchanged at 64.99 kuna.

(1 euro = 7.2702 Croatian kuna)