Finnish retail giant Kesko has reported an all-time-high comparable operating profit of €113 million in the third quarter of its financial year.
This performance was driven by improved results in its grocery, building and technical trade divisions.
Net sales from the group’s continuing operations for Q3 2018 amounted to €2.64 billion, up 1.8% on the corresponding period of the previous year (€2.59 billion).
'Best Quarterly Result'
Kesko’s president and CEO, Mikko Helander, said, “Kesko’s net sales continued to grow in the third quarter, in line with our growth strategy. Our operating profit also improved and we delivered our best quarterly result ever.
“Our cash flow development was also good and our financial position remained strong. Return on capital employed nearly met our target level.”
The boost in net sales has been attributed to the acquisitions made by the company in Finland and Norway in June and July of 2018.
Strong Performance
The company reported strong performance in grocery trade with sales, market share, and profitability all seeing improvements in the quarter.
In addition, Kesko’s online food sales grew by 74% in 2017.
Helander commented, “We were pleased with the growth in our customer numbers and sales in all chains, and our online food sales also grew considerably.
“We have nearly doubled the number of stores across Finland offering online food sales: this number will near 150 by the end of this year.”
Operating profit in the building and technical trade, excluding the speciality goods trade, grew by €7 million.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
