Lithuanian retailer Maxima Group said on Tuesday that its revenue from operations on the Bulgarian market rose by 12.6% year-on-year in 2019, the second-highest revenue growth figure for the period, after Poland’s 15.2% increase. Maxima Group’s consolidated like-for-like (LFL) revenue rose by 4.7% in Poland and Bulgaria, in local currency , the retailer said in a statement. The group, which is active in Bulgaria through its T-Market brand, posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of 234.5 million euro ($257.0 million) last year, marking a 4.9% increase compared to 2018. However, the total EBITDA of the companies in the Baltic states and in Bulgaria decreased. Active expansion in Poland over the last two years has increased Maxima Group’s 2019 total revenue to some 4.0 billion euro but profitability decreased due to investments in better prices for its customers, CEO Jurgita Slekyte said in the statement. “We focused on opening new stores and increasing the number of self-service checkouts,” Slekytesaid.Although the full impact of the coronavirus crisis on the business of Maxima still uncertain, the liquidity of the group is adequate, the company said. In February, through its local unit Maxima Bulgaria, the retailer opened its 11th store under the T-Market brand in the second-largest city of Plovdiv and its 84th in the country. Last year, Maxima Bulgaria signed long-term contracts for the lease of the 11 stores of supermarket chain Triumf in Plovdiv.Maxima Group entered the Bulgarian market in 2005. Besides T-Market in Bulgaria, the group owns the retail chains Maxima in the Baltic countries, Stokrotka in Poland, as well as e-grocer Barbora which operates in the Baltics.
