Hellenic to report slower sales growth

Tina Milton

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The Greek retailer is expected to announce slower sales growth when it reveals nine-month results next week

Greek retailer Hellenic Duty Free Shops (HDFS) is expected to report a slowdown in nine-month pre-tax profits growth because of a drop in tourist traffic and poorer Olympic product sales than expected.

Analysts have predicted a 15% rise in pre-tax profit to Eu46.7m ($60.61m) compared to a 25.4% increase to Eu40.6m ($52.7m) for the same period in 2003. Group revenue is forecasted to rise 25% to Eu218m ($283m).

HDFS cut its forecast in mid-October for this year's pre-tax profit and sales by around 13% to Eu58-60m ($75-$77m) and Eu285-290m ($370-$376m) respectively, attributing the decrease to low tourist numbers during the Olympic Games.

Athens International airport showed passenger traffic at the capital's airport rose only 8.4% in the third quarter, despite the Olympic Games that ran from August 13-29, compared to 15.7% growth in the second quarter. Analysts attributed the lower levels of travellers to passenger security concerns and high prices during the Games.