Greek retail group Jumbo reported a strong rise in store sales across Cyprus and Greece in May 2025, reflecting a gradual rebound after a slower start to the year due to Easter falling much earlier than in 2024.
Sales at Jumbo’s Cyprus stores increased by 14.5 per cent in May compared to the same month last year, bringing year-to-date growth to 8 per cent for the January–May period.
This marks a robust rise from the 6 per cent increase reported at the end of April.
Across the group, sales rose by 12 per cent in May, while cumulative sales for the first five months of 2025 were up 8 per cent year-on-year.
The company said that “the recovery became visible in the second half of May and is expected to continue into June, particularly in summer product categories.”
In Greece, net sales of the parent company, excluding intercompany transactions, climbed by approximately 14 per cent in May compared to the previous year.
For the five-month period, sales in Greece increased by 9.6 per cent.
Meanwhile, sales in Bulgaria rose by 7 per cent in May, bringing year-to-date growth to 3 per cent.
In Romania, sales recorded an 8 per cent increase for May, with total sales from January to May up by 7 per cent, despite the country’s busy electoral calendar.
This includes both in-store activity and performance via the online platform.
Jumbo management noted that “the early Carnival and Easter holidays this year had initially impacted first-quarter results,” but said that sales had started to normalise.
They maintained that a full assessment of financial performance should only be made after the close of the first half.
Against this backdrop, the group remains cautious for the near future amid changing global trade conditions and broader market uncertainty.
Within this context, Jumbo announced that it would discontinue its share buyback programme and instead propose a dividend of €68 million, or €0.50 per share, for fiscal year 2024.
Taking into account treasury shares held by the company, the gross distribution per share will amount to €0.5063.
The dividend proposal will be tabled at the next ordinary general meeting, scheduled for July 9. If approved, the ex-dividend date will be July 21, followed by a record date of July 22 and payment on July 24.
It is noted that Jumbo had previously made an extraordinary cash distribution of €63.5 million on March 31, 2025.
