Losses at Balkans retailer Mercator fell in the first nine months of 2013 despite lower revenues.
The Slovenia-based company said it ran up a EUR17.6m (US$23.7m) loss in the period to the end of September. A year earlier, it booked a loss of EUR22m.
Cost control helped Mercator's bottom line as the retailer's sales declined. Revenue was down 3.6% at EUR2.06bn as Mercator quit Albania and Bulgaria, as well as closed stores in other markets.
Mercator runs a variety for store formats across five markets - Slovenia, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzigovina and Montenegro. Some 569 of its 1,263 company-run outlets are so-called "neighbourhood stores". The retailer is revamping these outlets with a greater focus on fresh produce.
In June, Croatian retailer Agrokor agreed a deal to buy a majority stake in Mercator for EUR240m, creating one of the largest retail companies in Central and Eastern Europe, with annual revenue of around EUR7bn.
