Romanian bookstore chain Diverta considers listing its shares on the AeRO market, Bucharest Stock Exchange’s alternative trading system dedicated to small and medium companies.

This is one of the retailer’s big challenges, but the firm still needs to grow, said Amalia Buliga, Diverta’s general manager, cited by local Wall-street.ro.

The company has an annual turnover of about EUR 10 million and an operating profit margin of 5-6% per store. By comparison, Diverta’s sales were higher than EUR 20 million and its profit margin reached 10% per store in its peak years, between 2007 and 2008.

The bookstore chain entered insolvency in 2010 and went through restructuring for several years. It now has 24 stores, down from 62 before the insolvency, and plans to return to growth.

AeRO is a market segment designed for listing of early stage companies, start-ups and SMEs.

editor@romania-insider.com