May 14 (SeeNews) - Retail and wholesale companies within Croatia's ailing Agrokor concern saw a negative EBITDA of 4.2 million kuna ($681,604/568,598 euro) in the first quarter of 2018, Agrokor said on Monday.
The revenue of the sector reached 2.87 billion kuna in January-March, slightly lower than planned, the food-to-retail concern said in a statement on its website.
Agrokor's retail unit Konzum saw revenue of 1.96 billion kuna in the first quarter, 10.4% above plan. On an annual comparison basis (with the same number of stores) the revenue was 17.9% higher. Konzum's EBITDA totalled 26.2 million kuna, with a 1.3% margin.
Due to intensive work on implementing a number of measures and projects aimed at increasing profitability at Konzum, operating costs have been reduced by 8.5% year-to-date, Agrokor said.
The Bosnian unit of Konzum, Konzum BiH, recorded revenue of 311 million kuna, exceeding the plan by 3.9%.
The revenue growth was generated as a result of the repositioning of Konzum on the market, investments in competitiveness, price reductions and attractive marketing activities, and the timing of Easter holidays, Agrokor explained.
Konzum BiH's EBITDA was a negative 9.7 million kuna in the first three months of 2018, while its margin stood at a negative 3.1%.
The retailer Tisak recorded revenue of 400 millon kuna, which was below expectations, due to the cessation of ZET (Zagreb public transportation) ticket sales, weaker sales of merchandise due to poor weather conditions, restrictions imposed by the City of Zagreb relating to chilled display cabinets, a delayed listing and slightly lower margins on sticker sales.
Tisak's EBITDA was a negative 7.9 million kuna, with a negative margin of 2.0%.
Agrokor's wholesaler Velpro also recorded lower-than-planned revenue of 195 million kuna, with a negative EBITDA of 12.8 million kuna and a negative margin of 6.6%.
Low revenues are the consequence of incomplete supply negotiations with key customers, availability of certain key products and competitors' promotional activities on the market, Agrokor said.
(1 euro=7.38659 kuna)