Profits slide at listed companies
Profits for listed companies in the first nine months of the year have registered their worst showing since 2002, when International Financial Reporting Standards were first applied. The global recession has crushed Greek companies’ earnings, as these posted a 22.3 percent annual decline in the year-to-September period, according to the financial results already announced by just under half of the companies listed on the Athens bourse. In the same period last year, the decline of profits had reached 19.4 percent year-on-year. The profits recorded were attributed to drastic cuts in spending, the closure of loss-making subsidiaries and cancellation of investment programs, as demand remained weak for the majority of the sectors of Greek industry. Data collected by Pegasus stockbrokers showed that after-tax profits for 140 listed firms amounted to 4.697 billion euros until September, down from 6.049 billion euros in the first nine months of 2008.
