Spanish economic recovery helps boost El Corte Ingles profit

Core earnings for Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles were up 10 percent in 2015, it said on Sunday, buoyed by a consumer-driven economic recovery, a strong tourism season and a lower debt burden.

The privately-owned company, one of the biggest European department stores in terms of sales, is seen as a bellwether for the economy in Spain where one in four people own an El Corte Ingles store card.

Strong consumer demand has been one of the driving forces of economic growth as Spaniards who kept their jobs during a recession that ended three years ago spend on big ticket items like dishwashers and holidays.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at the retailer which sells everything from high-end clothing brands to televisions rose 10.4 percent to 913 million euros (778.10 million pounds) in 2015.

Net profit rose 34 percent to 158 million euros on revenues up 4 percent to 15.2 billion euros, helped by lower debt-servicing costs, in the year ending Feb. 29, 2016.

Last year's cash injection of 1 billion euros from former Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jaber Al Thani, in exchange for a 10 percent share allowed the retailer to cut financial costs by nearly a third.

By the end of its 2015 financial year, net debt stood at 3.83 billion euros, down from 4.97 billion euros a year ago.