Annual Report and Consolidated Accounts 2015
INTRODUCTION
The year of 2015 confirmed the positive signs shown by the Por-
tuguese economy in the previous year. These signs, which became
evident over the course of the year, had an impact on the overall
annual GDP growth rate of 1.5% in 2015, with emphasis on the 0.2%
quarter-on-quarter growth in the last quarter of the year.
Domestic demand, which increased by 2.4% in real terms, contributed
significantly to the growth of the Portuguese economy. In addition
to this good indicator of economic recovery, another external sta-
bilisation factor for the Portuguese economy emerged, namely the
lower price of energy goods, which had a direct impact on imports.
For the Ibersol Group, this macroeconomic scenariowas determinant
for the growth of turnover in Portugal and for the implementation
of the expansion plan undertaken during 2015. In this context, it was
possible to confirm a virtuous trajectory of sales improvement in
the majority of concepts, with the highest growth rates recorded
in the counter concepts and in the catering business, which benefit-
ted from a strong increase in the number of events that were held
mainly in the city of Lisbon. This trend also extended to the “restau-
rant” segment, which was the most affected by the contraction of
the economy in previous years and that returned to moderate but
sustainable growth in 2015.
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