Dutch supermarket retailer Laurus said it generated turnover in 2002 of €5.5bn (US$5.9bn), a decrease of 14.8% year-on-year.
Laurus attributed the fall in turnover to the sale and closure of some of the company’s operations. In 2002, the company sold off its loss-making Spanish operations to UK venture capital CVC Capital Partners.
Laurus was near collapse earlier in the year before being rescued by French retailer Casino, which now owns a 38.7% share in Laurus. The company recently announced the sales of its loss-making Belgian operations. If that sale goes ahead, Laurus will only retain its Netherlands operations.
The company’s Dutch supermarket chains – Super De Boer, Edah and Konmar – generated a combined year-on-year turnover increase of 4.7% in 2002. Super De Boer sales increased by 7.3%, Edah sales by 4.2% and Konmar sales by 0.7% in 2002. The total turnover of the three chains in the second half of 2002 was €4.2bn, compared to 4.1bn in the year-ago period, reported the Dutch News Digest.
