According to the group's general manager Thanos Iliopoulos, ELTON's figures changed in the third quarter of this year's financial year in the manner that the management described in the financial statements for the six-month period, but with a slightly higher sales value.

This, he adds, has resulted to some extent in closing the gap compared to last year in terms of turnover (-13.8% in the six months compared to the same period in 2023). The increase in sales volumes, which in the six months reached +1.1%, is also confirmed, while gross profit, which in the first half of 2024 was boosted by 15.7% for the company and 16.3% for the group, also seems to continue to move upwards. "In general, we are satisfied, considering the broader environment and the fact that the market as a whole cannot be said to be moving upwards. As a group, we are fortunate to operate in many sectors, which gives us a competitive advantage," says Mr. Iliopoulos.

The industrial sector, where ELTON has a presence mainly through raw materials for construction materials, is, he adds, the one that so far shows the highest growth rates, benefiting also from the mobility in the construction sector, both in Greece and in Balkan markets. "Apart from the construction of new homes, there is also interest in renovations as well as in the creation of new industrial facilities," says Mr. Iliopoulos. 

UP TO 2026 ERP

Across the Group Following the relatively recent management changes and the departure of the group's patriarch, Nestor Papathanasiou, who handed over the baton to his daughter, Alkisti Papathanasiou, ELTON is, as Mr. Iliopoulos points out, in a creative period of transformation in order to become "a modern and efficient group". A key priority is the implementation of the new ERP system, aiming at the automation and modernization of internal processes as well as the expansion of intra-group synergies. This is a necessary and, at the same time, demanding project, which, according to the general manager of ELTON, will serve as a basis for the further development of the group.  The first step was taken with the implementation of the ERP in Greece in the first half of 2024, while since the summer the relevant planning has started in the Romanian subsidiary, so that it will be put into operation in January 2025. The goal, as Mr. Iliopoulos underlines, is "to have the whole group live by the end of 2026 at the latest".

NEW FACILITIES 

The second investment milestone is the creation of the new complex in Kokkali, Boeotia, where, according to the design, the parent company's privately owned facilities currently located in Vlora will be relocated. The 149-acre site has already been purchased and, according to Mr. Iliopoulos, the study is expected to be completed by the end of the year, with the aim of starting operations in 2025. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, ELTON plans to enter the new facility in 2027. Although, as mentioned above, the relevant study has not been completed, the cost of this investment, according to Mr. Iliopoulos, will amount to tens of millions of euros.

OPEN FOR ACQUISITIONS

Apart from this, the group, as Mr. Iliopoulos stresses, keeps its antennae open for business opportunities and acquisitions, both in Greece (you can read about the acquisition of N. Lekos in today's FnB Daily) and abroad.