DE4CC0DE-5FC3-4494-BCBF-4D50B00366B5
Retail

Metro Group Sees Sales Decline In First Nine Months Of Year

By Steve Wynne-Jones
Share this article
Metro Group Sees Sales Decline In First Nine Months Of Year

Metro Group has posted sales of €45 billion for the first nine months of the year, a -1.2% decline on the same period last year, according to accounts just filed.

The German retail and wholesaling group’s domestic business posted sales roughly in line with last year (-0.3%), however its International (-1.8%) and Eastern Europe (-9.9%) both saw declines. Its Western Europe business was marginally up (+0.7%).

In Asia/Africa, however, the group posted a strong performance, with sales up 18.1% to €3.2 billion.

In terms of Q3, its Metro Cash & Carry operation posted a sales decrease of -1.3% in the third quarter of the year, while its Real hypermarket operation saw sales decline -8.2% due to the sale of its Real Eastern Europe business. In Germany, Real declined by -3.7%.

The period saw the group sell its Galeria Kaufhof business to Hudson’s Bay, a process that is still awaiting competition approval. It is expected to close in September 2015.

ADVERTISEMENT

In a statement, Metro Group said, “For financial year 2014/15, Metro Group expects to see a slight rise in overall sales of continuing operations, despite the persistently challenging economic environment. In like-for-like sales, METRO GROUP foresees a slight increase that will follow the 0.1% gain in the previous year.”

Meanwhile, according to Bloomberg, Metro has agreed to buy Classic Fine Foods Group, a Singapore-based supplier of gourmet products, for as much as $328 million to expand its wholesale business.

Private-equity company EQT will sell the business for an enterprise value of $290 million and an additional payment of as much as $38 million depending on its performance. Classic Fine Foods distributes high-end items to hotels and restaurants in 25 cities, mostly in Asia.

© 2015 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.

ADVERTISEMENT

 

 

Get the week's top grocery retail news

The most important stories from European grocery retail direct to your inbox every Thursday

Processing your request...

Thanks! please check your email to confirm your subscription.

By signing up you are agreeing to our terms & conditions and privacy policy. You can unsubscribe at any time.