(ANSA) - LUBIANA - Slovenia's Mercator, large-scale retail firm owned by the Croatian company Agrokor, recorded net losses of 184.4 million in 2017, the company announced at a press conference in Ljubljana. Losses are largely due to the one-off registration of real estate values in accordance with international accounting standards, in the absence of which the group would have recorded a net profit of 6 million, seeing an increase compared to 2016, when it recorded a loss of 31 million. The evaluation of the properties, now included in the income statement, was carried out by an external consultancy company and the results verified by two external companies, recording a loss in real estate assets of 1.4%. During the press conference, Mercator CEO Tomislav Sizmic underlined that the group recorded - for the first time since 2011 - a 2.5% increase in operating income from retail sales, and an EBITDA margin of 90.6 million euros, 45.4% higher than in 2016. Sizmic is convinced that today Mercator is a better company than when it was taken over a year ago and that it has been able to meet all commitments toward employees, suppliers and all its stakeholders. According to corporation's restructuring plans, Mercator is expected to raise about 300 million euros by selling unnecessary assets and reducing leverage in the financial system. (ANSA).