ATHEX cull sees earners outnumber loss-makers

It took almost six years - or 69 months - for profit-making companies to outnumber loss-makers on the Athens bourse, as the main feature of the first half's financial results submitted to the stock market is that the balance between earners and losers has swung in favor of the former for the first time since September 2010.

This may be tangible proof of the improvement in the situation at the Greek stock market, after the first signs seen in previous quarters, but it is not yet enough to generate hopes of an actual reversal of the market's fortunes.

Manos Hatzidakis, chief analyst at Beta stockbrokers, explains that the shift is due to a variety of factors: "Listed firms have managed to balance out demand and their costs, improving their operating margins, they have learnt to live without cash from banks, and they have taken advantage of the departure of small and weak...