- Sales reached euro 391.3m recording 10.1% growth year-on-year
- Gross profit reached euro 121.1m increasing by 16.1% year-on-year
- Net loss for the quarter of euro 17.6m
- Marfin Investment Group (MIG) announced today its Q1 2009 results.
The Group reported results for the quarter with a consolidated loss after tax and minority interest of euro 17.6m.
At the parent Company level, MIG recorded profits of euro 2.4m compared to a loss of euro 33m in Q1 2008, excluding the non-recurring gains for the period, while Net Asset Value (NAV) stands at euro 3.6bn.
At the same time, cost containment efforts at the Company level are already yielding results with operating expenses being reduced by 40.9% to euro 8.7m vs. euro 14.7m during the same period last year.
21% of the NAV is related to MIG's net cash, underlying a healthy, robust cash position during these difficult times.
Traditionally, the first quarter of the year is the weakest as the operational performance of portfolio companies such as Attica and Vivartia are impacted negatively by the high seasonality of their business (1Q being always their weakest quarter). Nevertheless, although MIG as a group experienced a loss for the first quarter, MIG subsidiaries and related companies such as Vivartia, Hygeia, Singular Logic, Hilton Cyprus, MIG Real Estate, and FAI exhibited profits and strong, promising growth for the quarter and are all performing according to their business plans on track to deliver strong and profitable performance in the FY2009.
Commenting on the Q1 results, Dennis Malamatinas, Marfin Investment Group's Chief Executive Officer stated:
"The first quarter of 2009 proved to be in general a difficult quarter globally, due primarily to the continuously devastating economic climate and deteriorating market conditions. During the first quarter, our Group, as a whole, experienced a net loss due to the expected seasonal losses incurred by some of our subsidiary companies - yet the majority of our subsidiary and related companies have shown promising growth and an impressive increase in net income. These results have been achieved despite adverse business conditions and a depressed general market environment in both Greece and abroad, yet the results fare favorably when compared with most of our peer group on a global perspective. Our subsidiary companies have demonstrated strong performance, enhanced market position and healthy balance sheets which position them very favorably for the future as well as vis-a-vis their competition. This, coupled with our strong and healthy balance sheet, makes us confident that despite the continuing adverse conditions and subsequent losses incurred in the first quarter, MIG will continue to be successful and is expected to deliver strong performance for the year. As always we firmly believe that MIG will of course be in a position to achieve a level of profitability that will enable us to maintain a generous dividend policy and reward those investors that take a longer term view on our position within the regional and world markets."
Contacts:
Investor Relations: +30 210 350 4000, +44 207 054 9280
About MIG: Marfin Investment Group Holdings S.A. is an international investment holding company based in Greece and throughout Southeastern Europe. MIG is quoted on the Athens stock exchange with a market capitalisation of approximately euro 2.7 billion, and has a portfolio of leading companies in mainly defensive sectors across the SEE region, grouped into Food & Dairy, Transportation, Healthcare, Financial Institutions, IT/Telecoms, and Private Equity sectors. As a diversified group MIG has a truly global presence - with 37% of its sales outside Greece, a presence in 40 countries, and more than 22 business segments overall. MIG employees over 50,000 employees and associates. In July 2007, MIG raised euro 5.2 billion via a rights issue and global offering, which was the largest rights issue by an investment company in European history.