Blue Square - Israel Ltd. announces first quarter 1997 results.GIVATAYIM Givatayim (gĭvätä`yĭm), town (1994 pop. 46,500), W central Israel, a residential suburb of Tel Aviv. It was the first Jewish workers' development in Palestine in the 1920s. Industries include printing and food processing. , Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1997--Blue Square-Israel Ltd. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : BSI BSI - British Standards Institute ) today announced unaudited results for the first quarter ended March 31, 1997. Revenues for the first quarter were adjusted New Israeli Shekels (NIS Niš or Nish (both: nēsh), city (1991 pop. 175,391), SE Serbia, on the Nišava River. An important railway and industrial center, it has industries that manufacture textiles, electronics, spirits, and locomotives. ) 1,014.7 million (U.S. $301.9 million (a)) compared to NIS 1,021.5 million (U.S. $303.9 million) for the corresponding period last year. Operating income Operating Income The profit realized from a business' own operations. Notes: This would not include income from things such as investments in other firms. Also referred to as operating profit or recurring profit. was NIS 22.0 million (U.S. $6.6 million) from NIS 37.2 million (U.S. $11.1 million). Net income for the quarter was NIS 22.0 million (U.S. $6.5 million) versus NIS 21.3 million (U.S. $6.3 million) last year. Net income included a capital gain of approximately NIS 5 million (U.S. $1.5 million) related to the exercise of warrants in a subsidiary. Earnings per ADS for the period were NIS 0.59 (U.S. $0.18), based on 38,400,000 shares outstanding, versus NIS 0.71 (U.S. $0.21), based on 30,000,000 shares outstanding, last year. Commenting on the results, Yacov Gelbard, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our results this quarter reflect aggressive implementation of our strategy, and pronounced seasonal effects. "The first quarter has been extremely productive in terms of implementing our strategy. In our supermarket sector, our plan is to penetrate new markets through opening new stores and buying existing stores. During the quarter, as previously reported, we bought Co-Op Ra'anana's chain of six supermarkets in Ra'anana Ra'anana (Hebrew רַעֲנָנָה; Standard Hebrew Ra'anana) is a city in the southern Sharon Plain in the Center District of Israel, Israel, 19 km north of Tel Aviv. , an affluent community near Tel Aviv Tel Aviv (tĕl əvēv`), city (1994 pop. 355,200), W central Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea. Oficially named Tel Aviv–Jaffa, it is Israel's commercial, financial, communications, and cultural center and the core of its largest . We also opened another supermarket in Be'er Sheva Sheva (shē`və), in the Bible. 1 Son of Caleb. 2 David's scribe: see Shavsha. . After the quarter, we bought Super Zol's chain of eight supermarkets in the Haifa Haifa (hī`fä), city (1994 pop. 246,700), NW Israel, a port on the Mediterranean Sea, at the foot of Mt. Carmel. Haifa is the chief city of N Israel and the country's principal oil refining center. region. Also after the quarter, we opened our sixteenth Super Center in the southern city of Arad. "In the department and specialty store Noun 1. specialty store - a store that sells only one kind of merchandise shop, store - a mercantile establishment for the retail sale of goods or services; "he bought it at a shop on Cape Cod" sector, we continued investment in our new specialty formats. Last year we launched three new store formats, with ten new store locations: BonMart discount stores, ID Design furniture, and Mothercare Mothercare is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It operates on the high street and out of town, and has over 200 shops in the UK. . Although we are pleased with progress in these stores, expenses remain high as we build brand names, client base, and staff. These investments have a negative short-term Short-term Any investments with a maturity of one year or less. short-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss on the value of an asset that has been held less than a specified period of time. effect, which is reflected in our operating margins Operating Margin A ratio used to measure a company's pricing strategy and operating efficiency. Calculated by: as well as in lower sales per square meter Noun 1. square meter - a centare is 1/100th of an are centare, square metre area unit, square measure - a system of units used to measure areas and per employee. We expect these metrics metrics Managed care A popular term for standards by which the quality of a product, service, or outcome of a particular form of Pt management is evaluated. See TQM. to improve as the new store operations mature. "Our results this quarter also reflect pronounced seasonality which make them difficult to compare to last year's results. The weeks preceeding Passover Passover, in Judaism, one of the most important and elaborate of religious festivals. Its celebration begins on the evening of the 14th of Nisan (first month of the religious calendar, corresponding to March–April) and lasts seven days in Israel, eight days in constitute one of the two major holiday seasons in Israel. These seasons produce our strongest revenues, especially in department and specialty stores. This year, the Passover shopping season fell in the second quarter, while last year, it was in the first quarter. Last year's first quarter results, which appear extremely strong, include substantial Passover sales. "It is worthwhile noting that revenues recorded by new stores opened since last year offset the decrease in same-store sales Same-store sales is a business term which refers to the revenue generated by one of a retail chain's specific outlets during a certain period of time (often a fiscal quarter or a particular shopping season), compared to an identical period in the past, usually in the previous year. . A comparison of sales for the period of January-April this year versus the same period last year would show improvement in overall sales." Mr. Gelbard concluded, "We are pleased with our progress this quarter, and continue to pursue our strategic plan. We remain opportunistic opportunistic /op·por·tu·nis·tic/ (op?er-tldbomacn-is´tik) 1. denoting a microorganism which does not ordinarily cause disease but becomes pathogenic under certain circumstances. 2. , as our recent purchase of Super Zol demonstrates. Our good results, though somewhat masked A state of being disabled or cut off. by seasonality, mark the progress we've made in developing Blue Square." Blue Square is the largest retailer in the State of Israel both in terms of sales Terms of sale Conditions under which a firm proposes to sell its goods or services for cash or credit. volume and number of stores. It currently operates 129 supermarkets and 36 specialty and department stores This is a list of department stores. In the case of department store groups the location of the flagship store is given. This list does not include large specialist stores, which sometimes resemble department stores. . Through these outlets, the Company offers a wide range of consumer products, including food and beverages F&B is a common abbreviation in the United States and Commonwealth countries, including Hong Kong. F&B is typically the widely accepted abbreviation for "Food and Beverage," which is the sector/industry that specializes in the conceptualization, the making of, and delivery of foods. , apparel, housewares house·wares pl.n. Cooking utensils, dishes, and other small articles used in a household, especially in the kitchen. , electronics, and cosmetics cosmetics, preparations externally applied to change or enhance the beauty of skin, hair, nails, lips, and eyes. The use of body paint for ornamental and religious purposes has been common among primitive peoples from prehistoric times (see body-marking). . The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts contain forward-looking information with respect to plans, projections, or future performance of the Company, the occurrence of which involve certain risks and uncertainties, including risk of market acceptance, the effect of economic conditions, the impact of competitive pricing, supply constraints CONSTRAINTS - A language for solving constraints using value inference. ["CONSTRAINTS: A Language for Expressing Almost-Hierarchical Descriptions", G.J. Sussman et al, Artif Intell 14(1):1-39 (Aug 1980)]. , the effect of the Company's accounting policies, as well as certain other risks and uncertainties which are detailed in the Company's filings with the Security and Exchange Commission, particularly the prospectus with respect to its public offering in July, 1996. (a) The convenience translation of the Adjusted New Israeli Shekel (NIS) into US dollars was made at the rate of exchange prevailing at March 31, 1997: US $1.00 equals 3.361 NIS. The translations were made solely for the convenience of the reader. -0-
Blue Square - Israel Ltd.
Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations
(In thousands, except for per share data)
(unaudited)
Convenience
translation
March 1997 adjusted NIS into US$
31-Mar-97 31-Mar-96 31-Mar-97
Sales 1,014,665 1,021,526 301,894
Cost of sales 756,310 763,751 225,025
Gross profit 258,355 257,775 76,869
Operation & admin. expenses 236,324 220,540 70,314
Operating income 22,031 37,235 6,555
Financial income 7,137 5,671 2,124
29,168 42,906 8,679
Other income, net 4,543 ( 638) 1,352
Income before taxes on income 33,711 42,268 10,031
Taxes on income 11,397 15,869 3,391
22,314 26,399 6,640
Equity in results
of affiliated, net ( 157) 107 ( 47)
22,157 26,506 6,593
Minority interest in
subsidaries, net 154 5,182 46
Net income for the period 22,003 21,324 6,547
Earnings per ordinary share or
per ADS (Adjusted NIS) 0.59 0.71 0.18
Weighted average no. of shares
outstanding during the period 38,400,000 30,000,000 38,400,000
-0-
Blue Square - Israel Ltd.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
(in thousands, adjusted to the NIS of March 1997)
Convenience
March 31, December 31, Translation
1997 1996 into US$
adjusted NIS adjusted NIS March 31, 1997
ASSETS (Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited)
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 3,084 15,014 917
Marketable securities 135,013 181,398 40,170
Trade receivable 505,658 524,358 150,449
Other accounts receivable 80,535 48,316 23,962
Inventories 353,479 301,216 105,171
Total current assets 1,077,769 1,070,302 320,669
Investment
Investments in affiliates 10,985 12,146 3,268
Fixed assets
Cost 1,840,293 1,765,758 547,543
Less - accumulated depreciation 664,622 649,178 197,745
1,175,671 1,116,580 349,798
Intangible assets and deferred
charges,net 42,105 37,410 12,528
Total Assets 2,306,530 2,236,438 686,263
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities
Credits from banks and others 191,416 237,842 56,952
Trade payable 667,591 618,245 198,629
Other accounts payable 216,394 193,564 64,384
1,075,401 1,049,651 319,965
Long-term liabilities 137,283 126,647 40,846
Minority interest 203,577 191,874 60,570
Shareholders' equity
Share capital 41,512 41,512 12,351
Capital surplus 504,591 504,591 150,131
Retained earnings 344,166 322,163 102,400
890,269 868,266 264,882
2,306,530 2,236,438 686,263
-0-
Blue Square - Israel Ltd.
Selected Operating Data
(in thousands, adjusted to the NIS of March 1997)
Convenience
Translation
Three months ended into US$
Mar-97 Mar-96 Mar-97
Sales (in millions)
Supermarkets 794 775 236
Department and specialty stores 221 247 66
Total sales 1,015 1,022 302
Number of stores (at end of period)
Supermarkets 128 118 128
Department and specialty stores 35 24 35
Same store sales
Supermarkets -5.14% 15.90% -5.14%
Department and specialty stores -13.27% 24.75% -13.27%
Total square meters (at end of period)
Supermarkets 155,200 142,900 155,200
Department and specialty stores 84,100 67,800 84,100
Sales per sq. mtr.
Supermarkets 5,233 5,589 1,557
Department and specialty stores 2,627 3,643 781
Sales per employee (in thousands)
Supermarkets 166 182 45
Department and specialty stores 119 154 35
CONTACT: Jody Burfening Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc. 212-838-3777 (ext. 106) jody@lhai.com or Company Contact: Zvi Bochman Blue Square-Israel Ltd. Tel: 972-3-572-1125 Fax: 972-3-571-7206 |
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