Hornbach back on track for success

Sales by the Hornbach Holding AG Group increased in the third quarter of 2011/2012 by 6.6 per cent to € 2 581.9 mio. Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) rose in the same period by 12.8 per cent to € 191.2 mio. The company says that growth was driven by its DIY stores and garden centres in Germany, where like-for-like sales increased by a cumulative six per cent. Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG with its 134 DIY stores and garden centres in nine countries increased sales in the first nine months by 6.3 per cent to € 2.41 bn and improved its EBIT by 13.9 per cent to € 154.3 mio. Like-for-like sales grew by 2.9 per cent.The outlets in Germany delivered the most dynamic performance with an increase in like-for-like sales of a cumulative six per cent. Outside Germany, the sales of the Hornbach DIY stores and garden centres rose by 7.6 per cent in all in the first nine months. The proportion of group sales by Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG attributable to stores abroad increased from 42.0 per cent to 42.5 per cent.