While 2013 was not a year most businesses in Greece want to remember, the “Karelias” tobacco company had another exceptional year, with the company’s managing director Andreas Karelias commenting that “our company has overcome itself, once again”.
The tobacco company increased its sales by 8%, with the vast majority of its annual 16.8 billion cigarette production being exported (14.6 billion), which brought 170 million euro to the country in foreign currency. Additionally the company increased its staff by 8% to meet demands and invested about 3 million euros in increasing production and exports, with a further 1.9 million euros worth of investments scheduled for this year.
Perhaps most significantly though, at its annual New Year celebration, the company announced that it would give out bonuses worth 2.5 million euros to its employees.
All employees received a 200-euro “turkey” benefit and employees with children will receive various benefits including study benefits of up to 1,400 euros. The company also announced that all employees would receive a benefit ranging from 750 to 2,600 euros, depending on their annual wages. The company’s managing director also noted that it would cover all insurance and tax obligations.
