Listed firms have tourism, cost-cutting to thank
Listed companies have seen their profits rise two and a half times this year compared with 2012, thanks to extensive cost-cutting and the increase in tourism arrivals.
The good news from the 206 listed firms (85.8 percent of the total) that have issued their financial figures for the first nine months of 2013 is the 150.6 percent increase in net earnings compared to the same period last year. The bad news is the 1.3 percent rise in obligations (72.41 billion euros) and the 3.4 percent increase in their borrowing from banks, which has reached 42.56 billion euros.
Manos Hatzidakis, head of the analysis department at Beta stockbrokers, says the increase in profits is due to two main factors: the rise in incoming tourism, as several companies have recorded revenues from foreign visitor arrivals – particularly in the commerce and industry sectors – and the cost saving of the last three years that has started bearing fruit and affecting company cash flows.
