AB Vassilopoulos

AB Vassilopoulos has announced that net profits for the full-year of 2009 remained level at €32.6m, as costs soared and the group was hit by a one-off tax, but sales increased as a result of acquisition.

The Delhaize-owned retailer said that it's results had been impacted by a €4m one-off payment on corporate profit aimed at helping Greece overcome its growing deficit and €300bn debt pile, Reuters reported.

Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 26 per cent to hit €88.9m, boosted by sales growth of 10.2 per cent to €1.47bn.

Operating expenses grew by 13.4 per cent to €299m, a result of increased investment in expanding and upgrading its store network.