Flamingo International Sales Up One Third In July

Flamingo International, one of the leading electronics, home appliances and IT&C retailers on the Romanian market reported a group-wide sales surge of more than 30% in July compared to the month before, a press release indicates.

Flamingo ascertains that July marked a notable sales recovery for the company, well above the nearly 15% achieved by the overall market. Analyzed by segments, Flamingo"s sales excelled in home appliances and IT&C products, which sold 50% better than in the previous month.

"We are hoping that the market will recover in the near future and we trust that sales will remain on an upward trend in the months to come, even though the values will not match what we achieved in the past years. Anyway, we are not expecting any dramatic collapse, like we experienced at the beginning of the year, when the market plunged over 40%," said Stefan Treiber, the new CEO of Flamingo International.

Despite the negative forecasts about the performance of the market this year, Flamingo management are confident that the stability enjoyed in July is also noticeable in August, making room for hope that the second half of the year, and especially the fourth quarter, will bring more vigorous recovery.

• Raiffeisen suspends recommendations and target price for Flamingo stock

Raiffeisen Centrobank has suspended the target price and the "hold" recommendation for Flamingo International stock (BSE:FLA) as many uncertainties could influence the future performance of the company. "On the one hand, there are uncertainties about the issuance of Flamingo bonds, whereas on the other hand the market for electronics has been indecisive in 2009. Moreover, the company has announced plans to implement a new reorganization plan, which is not yet public in detail, and all this could have a substantial impact on our estimations," Raiffeisen Centrobank analysts said.

The bond issue will be discussed in the General Meeting of Shareholders on 17 August. The plan is to issue 290 million bonds with a face value of 0.1 RON and an annual interest of 10%. The non-convertible bonds will have a maturity of 5 years. Flamingo International shares are currently traded for 0.027 RON, giving the company a market value of 21.65 million RON.

Flamingo International is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange since 2005, being the first and only company of its kind in Romania to be listed. The company has a share capital of 77.9 million RON divided into shares with a face value of 0.1 RON