Kesko reaps hefty profits in Q2

Finland’s leading retailer Kesko posted $111.9 million (€87.7 million) in second-quarter profits and attributed the growth to a rise in sales from verseas operations. Kesko, which is active in Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, also expects operating profit and sales to post steady growth in the second half of this year.

Kesko said net sales in the second quarter went up 13.1 per cent year-on-year to reach €2.4 billion, which the retailer said was due to expansion programmes in its overseas operations. Overseas sales rose 66 per cent. The retailer’s net sales in Finland for the same quarter went up by 2.4 per cent and by 65.6 per cent abroad. Excluding the contribution of acquisitions and business disposals, net sales rose 5.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, Kesko’s net sales in the January-June period were €4,472 million, up 14.3 per cent compared with the same six-month period in 2005 (€3,913 million). Operating profits for January-June was €239.5 million (€141.9 million). Kesko’s profit before taxes was €238.4 million (€135.4 million in 2005).