Portuguese retail group Jerónimo Martins has published its results for the first nine months of the year, with its Biedronka operation seeing sales rise 10.4% over the period, with a like-for-like growth of 2.4%.
Its Portuguese supermarket chain, Pingo Doce, saw its like-for-like sales rise 4.7% over the period, while net earnings for the group grew 6.4% to €252 million.
‘In the nine months of the year, the Group strengthened its competitive position in all markets where it operates, while strongly increasing cash flow generation," said chairman and chief executive Pedro Soares dos Santos. "Biedronka strengthened its market share and continues reinforcing the competitiveness of its model for the future."
The retailer said that its Colombian expansion is progressing well, with 110 stores operating under the Ara brand at the end of September.
Commenting on its performance, Barclays European Food Retail Equity Research said that in Portugal, LFL sales rose ahead of its estimates, "but EBITDA margin declined by 20bps to 6.5% (Barclays 6.5%) due to fierce competition. The company unsurprisingly expects its FY15 EBITDA margin in Poland will be above its 6.5% floor (EBITDA margin was 6.8% in 1H and is 6.9% in 9M)."
© 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.
