Greek jewellery retailer and manufacturer Folli Follie has reported an impressive first-half net profit increase of 29% to E.54.7m ($77.9m) for the first six months of 2009 compared with E.42.4m ($60.9m) in the comparative period

last year.

The company – which is the majority shareholder in Greek duty free company HDFS – benefited from a 27% rise in sales in its Asian stronghold (excluding Japan) with total sales rising by 9.5% to E.452.7m ($650.2m).

In a statement, Folli Follie Vice President George Koutsolioutsos said: ‘We are more than pleased with the performance of all companies of the group. We will stay alert for the coming months and pursue our strategic goals.’