CTC recovers from asset sales, Marios Shacolas steps down

The CTC Group of CSE-listed retail and property companies, announced a return to profitability in 2020, after two years of losses, mainly due to the impairment of property values by affiliated and subsidiary companies.

At the same time, the company also announced that Marios Shacolas, son of the group’s founder Nicos Shacolas, was stepping down from all executive positions.

Cyprus Trading Corporation Plc, parent of Ermes Department Stores Plc (operator of the ERA chain and SPAR stores) and Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties Plc announced consolidated preliminary results for the year ending December 31, 2020 with after-tax profits of €39 mln on a turnover of €303 mln.

The audited results for 2018 and 2019, which will be announced at the end of February, showed losses of €109 on a turnover of €336 mln, and €17.5 mln losses on a turnover of €327 mln, respectively.

The company said the losses were attributed to the impairment of group property assets that did not affect liquidity, and in particular the disposal and impairment of properties linked to the Cyprus Limni Resorts and Golf Courses Plc, owner-operator of the golf resort near Polis Chrysochous.

The results for 2020 “would have been better had they not been affected by the negative consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic, but the conclusion of asset disposals fundamentally contributed to the reduction of liabilities and increase in profits,” CTC said.

The same announcement added that Marios Shacolas has stepped down as executive chairman, managing director and board member of all four companies.

He will stay on at NK Shacolas Holdings, the largest shareholder in all the group companies.

Demetris Demetriou, a senior executive at Cyprus Trading Corp. and Ermes Department Stores is taking over as chairman while Ermes executive vice chairman Eleni Shacola will step in as interim Managing Director.

Christakis Charalambous takes over from Demetriou as chairman of the Woolworth (Cyprus) Properties board.