The adjustment relates to the purchase 17 years ago of the Allkauf and Kriegbaum chains, Metro said in a statement Friday.
The businesses were added to Real six years after it was created in 1992, though have been weighed down by changes in Germany’s pay scale and price cutting.
The move will give Real more “room to maneuver” to reposition itself, Metro said, adding that it plans to invest “extensively” in coming years to modernize the business.
Metro said the charge won’t affect its full-year forecast. Profit this year, as measured in earnings before special items and excluding currency shifts, will be “slightly above” last year’s €1.73 billion. including income from selling real estate, the company said in February.
Bloomberg News, edited by ESM
