Mr. Asaf Bartfeld, CEO of Delek Group commented, "We continue to show steady growth despite the slowdown in the global economy. Thus far in 2008, our fuel subsidiaries both in Israel and Europe, performed well as a result of the successful fuel retail strategy we have put in place, focusing on convenience stores and capitalizing on economies of scale. In addition, our automotive holdings continued to perform well, with strong growth in sales. However, the ongoing refining margin erosion in the US as well as the weaker financial and real estate sectors, offset this strong growth. In addition, the high inflation rate in Israel negatively impacted our bottom line, by increasing our financial expenses."
Mr. Bartfeld continued, "Despite these challenges, our cash position remains very strong, standing at NIS 1.3 billion. We continue to see substantial opportunities for the Group, particularly in the areas of energy and infrastructure, and in this regard we recently raised an additional NIS 420 million. With our ability to leverage our broad experience and global presence, supported by our strong and yet diversified asset base, we believe we are well positioned to build and create long-term shareholder value. Our strong commitment to this goal, is also very much demonstrated by the recent share buy-back program we commenced, having purchased 112,000 shares for NIS 48 million since July 2008."
