Karelia Group's net profit reached €86.84 million in 2023, an increase of 1.7% compared to 2022. Turnover increased by 8.25% to 278.23 million euros. For the 2023 financial year, the company will distribute a dividend of €12.4 per share, up 5.1% compared to the previous financial year.
As the Group said in the announcement, in a highly volatile business environment with geopolitical tensions, strong inflationary pressures, volatility in energy and transport costs, and tobacco tax increases in the most important of our international markets, the Group's performance in fiscal 2023 is characterized as fully satisfactory, with an increase in turnover, maintenance of profitability at high levels, and further strengthening of its cash position.
In the Greek market and despite the intense competition from alternative nicotine delivery products, an increase in cigarette sales volumes of approximately 8.5% was recorded, as a result of the strengthening of the shares of most brands but also of the increased traffic in travel retail outlets, while in roll-your-own tobacco and despite the slight contraction of the category, the sales volumes of our brands were at the 2022 levels, thus improving the shares here as well.
In our international markets, sales volumes in cigarettes showed a slight increase of around 2%, while in roll-your-own cigarette tobacco, the increase was in the region of 14%. In the Bulgarian market in particular, sales volumes increased by around 5% for cigarettes, while volumes for roll-your-own cigarette tobacco declined slightly. In Serbia, Kosovo, and Bosnia, the impressive increase in sales fully offset the decrease in shipments to Albania and Croatia.
Volumes to other EU countries were also up, with notable performances from our brands in Spain (+6%), Slovakia (+3.5%), and Luxembourg (+11%), achieving 6% volume growth and offsetting reduced sales in France, where a dramatic increase in tobacco tax led to a shrinking market. A significant decline in the number of cigarettes sold hit the market in the remaining Western European nations, including the UK. In Western Europe, including the UK, sales volumes declined, mainly due to increases in tobacco taxation or statutory increases in retail prices of tobacco products.
The Group achieved impressive results in the travel retail markets in the Far East, the Middle East, and especially Turkey (cigarettes +24%, tobacco +64%), the result of the return of travel traffic to 2019 levels and increased brand awareness. Conversely, in Eastern European countries, where the general business environment is suffering the effects of the war conflict in Ukraine, our volumes were down, with the exception of the Moldovan market. In the North African markets, despite a severe shortage of foreign exchange reserves, the group managed to maintain volumes at 2022 levels after adjusting its pricing policy to the economic conditions in these countries.
As a result of the above developments, the group's consolidated turnover, excluding excise duty and VAT, increased by 8.3% compared to the previous financial year, exceeding €278 million. However, due to the strongest appreciations in the purchase prices of raw materials, mainly tobacco and filter materials, to which the Group had referred in previous reports, the gross margin (on net turnover) suffered a decrease from 50.7% in 2022 to 44.8% in 2023.
As for the group's net profit before tax, it shows a slight decrease of 1% compared to the previous financial year, reaching €110.1 million. The Karelia Group's remarkable financial gains, the result of strong cash reserves and higher interest rates in international markets, not only offset the cyclical negative currency differences from the slide of the US dollar against the euro but also covered a significant part of the loss in gross profitability.
