The turnover of HELLENIC CABLES Group amounted to € 181 million in the first half of 2013, reduced by 20% compared to 2012 (€ 227 million). Sales in the domestic market remained at the level of 2012 while exports dropped, mainly those to EU countries due to the slackened demand and the poor weather conditions in Central andNorthern Europein the first months of 2013.

Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) amounted to € 1.4 million, registering a 70% decrease compared to 2012, while the Group's earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) amounted to losses of € 2.9 million compared to losses of € 254,000 in 2012.

The Group's results have been affected by the reduced sales, increased competition and the delay in the award of major contracts. Moreover, the valuation of metal basic inventories had a significant effect on such results due to the considerable drop of prices in metal stock exchange.

Consolidated results before taxes amounted to losses of € 8.7 million compared to losses of € 8.2 million in 2012, while net consolidated results after taxes and minority interest stood at losses of € 9.4 million or € 0.3164 per share. A one-off loss of € 1.8 million was charged to the net consolidated results of the first half of 2013 due to re-calculation of the deferred tax that arose from a change in the income tax rate from 20% to 26%.

The Group's net borrowing stood at € 159 million, i.e. it was increased during the first half of 2013 since the amount of € 12 million was disbursed at Group level for investments.

Future developments in the domestic and international business environment are uncertain but the Group remains dedicated to the implementation of its strategic planning, focusing on high added value products and on international markets to improve its financials. Moreover, efforts are unswervingly made to develop new products while greater efforts are made to strength sales networks and further curtail the production cost and optimize the management of working capital.