Hornbach wins and loses

The Hornbach Holding AG Group increased its group sales in the first six months of fiscal 2012/2013 (1 March to 31 August 2012) by 1 per cent to around € 1.8 bn. According to a company press release, the increase is attributable to the business in Germany in particular. Operating income (EBIT) fell by 2.9 per cent to € 153.2 mio. The company expects to finish once again at the level of the previous fiscal year after twelve months, however. In the biggest operational sub-group, Hornbach-Baumarkt-AG, sales by the 137 stores across Europe rose in the six months by 0.9 per cent to € 1.6819 bn. Sales in Germany increased by 1.5 per cent in the six months to € 971.3 mio, but the like-for-like sales of Hornbach stores in the eight countries outside Germany declined by 2.1 per cent after six months.