Shares in the Belgian family-owned supermarket chain Colruyt dropped to a seven month low this morning, after the company announced that its market share weakened during the October-to-December period.
Shares fell by as much as 9.4% to €38.115, according to Reuters, and Colruyt also forecast that its net profit will be slightly lower than the €353 million recorded a year earlier.
"In the last months revenue has been increasing less rapidly than in the first six months of this financial year," Colruyt said. Turnover was up 4.5% to €6.54 billion for the third quarter, however revenue from its retail stores slowed, rising 4.3%, compared to 4.8% in the first half of the company's fiscal year.
That share value is the lowest Colruyt posted since 26 June 2013, and it also makes it the worst performer in the FTSEurofirst 300 index of leading European stocks.
© 2014 - European Supermarket Magazine by Enda Dowling
