Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. I'm Constantinos, your conference call operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Jumbo conference call and live webcast to present and discuss the first half of 2024 financial results. All participants will be in listen-only mode, and the conference is being recorded. The presentation will be followed by a question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may press star followed by one on their telephone. For the webcast participants, you can submit your questions in English. Should anyone need assistance during the conference call, you may signal an operator by pressing star and zero on your telephone. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Apostolos- Evangelos Vakakis, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Polys Polycarpou, Executive Director, and Ms. Amalia Karamitsoli, Head of Investor Relations. Ms. Karamitsoli, you may now proceed. Thank you, Constantinos. Hello, everyone. Thank you for taking the time to join us today. I'm excited to present our performance highlights and the future outlook for Jumbo Group. Let's start with a few key financial results of the first half of the year. We achieved sales growth of 8%, reaching EUR 460 million. Our gross margin remains flat at 55%, representing stable operations despite the challenging market. EBITDA increased by 12%, totaling EUR 165 million, and adjusted EBITDA grew by 5% to EUR 154 million. In terms of profitability, net profit increased by 14%, reaching EUR 122 million. On an adjusted basis, net profit increased by 5% to EUR 111 million. We are in a strong financial position with net cash, excluding leases, at EUR 461.6 million. Our capital expenditure for the period was at EUR 35 million, position us well to execute our investment plans. A cash distribution of EUR 0.6 per share in March, a dividend distribution of EUR 1 per share in July, as well as a recent approval of a share buyback program, further reflecting our commitment to delivering value to our shareholder partners. Looking to our operations in the first half of the year, we successfully launched our second store in Oradea, Romania, and we have reopened the two stores in Greece that were closed in September 2023 due to the effects of the Daniel Storm. In terms of store presence of Jumbo, now operate 53 stores in Greece, plus the online store, five stores in Cyprus, and also the online store, 10 stores in Bulgaria, and 18 stores in Romania, plus the online store. Through partnerships, we now have presence with 37 stores bearing the Jumbo brand in seven countries. Israel also started the second franchise store in September 2024. Looking at group sales in the first eight months of 2024, we achieved 7% increase with the following highlights: Greece sales grew by 7%, Cyprus, a slight increase by 1%, Bulgaria sales rose by 9%, and Romania experienced strong growth with sales up 13% year on year. Looking ahead to store expansions, we are opening a new hyperstore in Cyprus in October, and another hyperstore in Bucharest is scheduled for November 2024. A second hyperstore in Timișoara is planned for 2025, along with one more store in Romania next year. For 2025, pending availability, one more store is expected to open in one of the countries of operations. Last but not least, I would like to note that the hyperstore in Cluj-Napoca is planned for 2026. Now, regarding our 2024 budget, we have announced that we anticipate sales growth of 4% and organic net income that will flirt with 2023 levels. We have allocated CapEx of approximately EUR 60 million-EUR 65 million, subject to the rollout of our new stores. In our budget, we have also counted persistent delays in product deliveries due to ongoing situation with the Suez Canal. This has affected the global supply chain throughout 2024. In closing, our strong financial position, continuous store expansions, and commitment to shareholder value give us confidence as we move forward. Thank you for your attention, and now Mr. Apostolos- Evangelos Vakakis will take your questions. Good afternoon. Welcome to [Jumbo] conference call. Mr. Vakakis, can you hear us? Pardon? We are ready. Questions. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time, we'll begin the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question using telephone audio conference may press star followed by one on their telephone. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, then you may press star and two. For the webcast participants, you can submit your written questions in English. Audio conference participants, please use your handset when asking your question for better quality. Anyone has a question may press star and one at this time.... In the interest of time, please limit yourself to one question and one follow-up question. One moment for the first question, please. The first question comes from the line of Maxim Nekrasov with Citi. Please go ahead. Yes, thank you very much for the presentation. I have a question regarding the buyback and dividends. So, how do you think about shareholder remuneration in case the share price goes above the upper end of the buyback range, as it's already above EUR 26? And, can shareholders expect another dividend near term, in addition to the buyback that you announced? By default. This will come by default, but, not as instantly as people may think, due to the fact that, we will have to see the overall development of the market, as well as, the situation with the war in, Lebanon and, in the area around there. Mr. Nekrasov, are you finished with your questions? Yeah, thank you for the answer. I have a couple more, maybe I just have one. On your budget, 2024 budget and outlook, so why do you expect to see a slowdown in the coming months, based on your guidance, considering that year-to-date growth has been around 7% and 8% in the first half? So what drives slower growth in the remaining months? The fact is that, due to the continuation of hostilities in around the Suez Canal, we now face a situation of major disruption in our supply chain. As a result of that, we get erratic deliveries, and we have to make an assumption that somehow this will affect our day-to-day operation. So to cut a long story short, we have a cost of war situation that needs to be reflected somewhere, and this is what we have done with our guidance. Mm-hmm. Understood. Thank you very much. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no audio questions at this time. We will now move to our webcast questions. The first webcast question comes from Iakovos Kourtesis with Piraeus Securities, and I quote: "Since we are towards the end of September, would you be kind enough to provide the group's top line performance for September and for the nine-month 2024 period, as well as per country basis for both September and the nine-month period? Thank you. September has not finished yet, so it is very difficult to say a number and a detailed number without the period finishes. We usually publish the September results early October. If one wants to just to get a smell of what goes on, we have said that our September overall results will be sliding towards the 4% that we have already warned the market, although still the pace doesn't look as alarming. The next webcast question is a follow-up question from Iakovos Kourtesis: "Would you expect your gross profit margin for the full year period to settle at previous year's levels, 55.8%? It's anybody's guess, but we would be disappointed if it doesn't. Next question is again from our webcast participant, Iakovos Kourtesis, and I quote: "Do you have available any estimates for your market share on a per country basis? Thank you. Absolutely none. We don't really think in these terms. Our strategy is growth, growth, growth, and theoretically, all markets, assuming normal conditions, should be still on a growth path. The next question is from our webcast participant, Luca Orsini, and I quote, "Can you comment on the outlook? Can you also comment on Israel? The fact that you opened a second shop is a good sign. What is the potential of this market outside short-term concerns of the war? Thank you. The disposable income of Israel, comparative to the Greek disposable income, as well as the Balkan region income, is minimum to almost three times as big. So it is a positive reality. On the other hand, the operation in Israel is a franchised one, so everything depends on our business partners there. We don't want to involve ourselves further into this exercise, but from what we hear, the plan is for an area that can generate as much turnover in the future as in Greece. The next webcast question comes from Maxim Nekrasov with Citi, and I quote: "What percentage of the cost of goods is comprised by transportation costs? What increase in shipping costs do you observe on average for your inventories? Thank you. We have followed a strategy of only shipping goods that do not disturb the selling out, as well as the cost structure, and we have refused to support any products that didn't fall within this category. Our personal feeling is that sooner or later, the situation around the Suez Canal will be settled, because if it's not, that will have disproportionate effect in the medium and long run of the prosperity of continents and regimes, so I really don't fully understand the nature of the question, but if I can make a guess, I would say that as we stand today, I'm a little bit more positive than negative, that we are heading, again, by default, towards a normalization of problem. The next webcast question comes from Ali Amiri with Polar, and I quote: "Does your guidance for stable organic profits include or exclude the EUR 10 million insurance receipt? Thank you. We have already reflected that on our numbers published, and we have given these numbers for people to be in line with a one-off benefit. The way we see it is that we have a one-off benefit and, on the other side, a one-off detriment, which is the cost of war. So theoretically, when the one as an effect subsides, hopefully the other one will subside as well. So this is what creates to us a percentage more opportunity that things would get better than worse. I'm talking about 2025, and I'm not talking about 2024, that it's still too close to call what will be the end number. The next webcast question comes from Constantinos Zouzoulas with Axia Ventures Group, and I quote: "Apart from the disruptions in Suez that could affect operations, how do you see overall demand evolving in the market Jumbo operates, given the existing inflationary pressures? Thank you. Our feeling is, come what may, singers will always sing, dancers will always dance, and consumers will always spend. Having said that, however, it is true that we face two challenges. One challenge is the birth rate in some of the countries that we operate, and the second challenge is, as I said, the cost of war directly through increased costs of transportation and indirectly by logistical implications that again affect cost directly and indirectly. Directly through the additional cost of going through Africa, and indirectly through an erratic behavior of how products are coming, how they get delivered, how they whether they are on time, and so on. I think that answers your question. The next webcast question comes from Gregory Randolph, with Autopac Partners, and I quote: "Do you believe Romania longer term can have 50 or more locations? Have you begun plans for the next country or is it too premature? I've said to people that I never plan more than 18 months forward. And this is something that I will keep. But common sense and pure mathematics says that in a country that is double the population of Greece, it is very realistic one to expect to have the same turnover as in Greece. The next webcast question comes from Roman Zulauf with Aqua Capital, and I quote: "What gross margin do you have on your sales to your franchise partners like in Israel? Thank you. We have no gross margin charge. We only have an operational charge that covers our overheads, and then we take a cut of 4% on the turnover of the activity in the country. The next webcast question comes from Georgiy Rykov, with Karoll Capital Management, and I quote: "Could you please share parameters of the franchise agreement in Israel and also other Balkan markets, example, fees, duration, et cetera? Thank you. Everybody wants and likes to do business with us. The arrangement we have is plain vanilla, so we charge a cost of operations, which is our direct cost, and it contributes to our overhead costs. So for us, it is an export activity. And then, as I said, we take first 4% of the turnover, irrelevant of whether the operation is profitable or unprofitable. Once again, to register for a question, please press star one on your telephone. Ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. I'll now turn the conference over to Mr. Vakakis for any closing comments. Thank you. Thank you very much for attending this conference. If one ask me about the future, I would say that I'm slightly more optimistic than that I used to be a few months back. But however, if one ask me, what is the future? I cannot give an answer which is objective. It would be subjective, and therefore, the future for us is our budgeted numbers, which really is, and the guidance is a by-product of these budgeted numbers. And prudence always prevails to optimism. So we hope that conditions will not change that dramatically in order to affect a policy that has been consistent for the last thirteen years. All the rest is really guessing. But if one overlooks the cost of war, then in my opinion, he's making a mistake. So in comparative terms, Jumbo would be excelling against its competitors. But on real terms, on arithmetic terms, we are not that big or that serious to affect markets. So, this is the reality, and we have to stay without the dimensions and, equilibriums that we operate in. So better be unpleasant than sorry. Mr. Vakakis, excuse me to interrupt you. Yes, we do have a few more webcast questions. Please. The next webcast question comes from Zara Coombs with Lazard, and I quote: "How do you view the competitive threat of Action and also Amazon entering Romania? Thank you. Really, it's of no bother to us, this thing. The market is so big. Our assumptions are so, so prudent that take account of the possibility of facing in the future tremendous competition. Competition is a healthy thing because it also helps our company to gain customers everywhere around by seeing what our competitors are doing. I never bothered so much worrying about competition. I was always very interested to see what competitors were doing in order to be strong competitors. And to me, copying an action makes sense if it is a better one to us. The next webcast question comes from George Athanasakis with Pantelakis Securities, and I quote: "Are other franchise agreements similar to Israel? Thank you. We don't have the capacity to house additional new franchises into our system. We discourage focusing too much on, towards this activity. For us, this activity has been encouraged up to now, due to the fact that the Greek economy, although theoretically healthy, it's still lagging in terms of modernization and competitiveness. And therefore, any help we can get without a visible cost or financial worries is welcome, but it cannot interfere with our core business. So for us, it is a complementary activity. It is not an activity that we pay too much attention to, towards, or that we rely on in order to support our numbers and our business. The next webcast question comes from Gregory Randolph with Autopac Partners, and I quote: "You mentioned copying Action's. Action makes sense if they are doing something well. A key part of their strategy are smaller stores closer to city center. Is that something that can work within the Jumbo model? Thank you. For us, no. The question is not whether you have smaller stores, is of having more cost-efficient stores. And this is part of our strategy, where we buy stores that we rent. We incorporate the last-minute delivery scenarios into these stores. So we change the balance between warehouse and the selling area of the stores. To us, this is a better and longer-lasting strategy, which is to have destination stores, rather than have what it's called convenience stores, which we leave this ordeal to our competitors. The next webcast question comes from Georgiy Rykov with Karoll Capital Management, and I quote: "When does the inventory build-up for Christmas season usually start in a normal year? And how have you adjusted working capital activities in light of the Suez Canal disruption, disruptions? Thank you. We had no such need to devise a special strategy due to the fact that it was not in our core to do so. We refused to pay, let's say, blackmail transport costs. And thank God our strategy has paid, because although we have disruptions, we don't have in our warehouse products which are overpriced. And as recent events indicate of a gradual normalization of the supply chain. This strategy will pay results. Now, having said that, we may face different type of problems in the future, but this is what we are paid to do, to address problems in a way that does not change the model that we have and we do not compromise the model in order to buy turnover or to create short-term profits which are not sustainable. Once, as a final reminder to register for a question, please press star one on your telephone. Good afternoon, everybody. Yes. So ladies and gentlemen, there are no further questions at this time. Mr. Vakakis, the floor back to you. Thank you. Good afternoon. Thank you for listening to us, and hopefully, our guidance as it moves towards December, will guide you to understand what exactly we have done in our strategy. Because we cannot really explain the strategy in further details, because not only we copy, but we are copied. Good afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, the conference is now concluded, and you may disconnect your telephone.