Finland's Kesko generated sales worth €12 billion between January and December 2023, registering a marginal (-0.1%) decline compared to the previous year.
Sales in the company's grocery trade unit increased 4% to €6.4 billion in this period, according to the company.
Grocery sales to K-grocery stores and consumer goods trade increased 2.5% year-on-year, to €5.25 billion.
Other Divisions
Kespro, the company's foodservice arm, saw double-digit sales growth of 11.2% to €1.2 billion.
Elsewhere, the company's construction and building technology unit generated €4.3 billion, down 8.6% year-on-year, while sales in its car trade division increased 12% year-on-year to €1.3 billion during the year.
The retailer will publish its financial statements for January to December 2023 on 30 January 2024.
December 2023 Performance
Kesko reported a 7.3% decline in like-for-like sales to €905.9 million in December 2023.
In the grocery trade, sales amounted to €570.8 million, down 1.4% year-on-year.
Grocery sales to K-food stores fell by 1.1% year-on-year and K-Citymarket's home and speciality goods also witnessed a decline.
Elsewhere, Kespro saw year-on-year sales growth of 0.4% to €93.1 million.
In December, sales in the construction and building technology trade decreased by 15.4% to €251.1 million.
Hardware store sales fell by 26.2% on a comparable basis, while sales in technical trade also decreased by 4.3%.
On a comparable basis, sales at the division declined 23.8% in Finland, 21.9% in Sweden and 13.2% in Norway.
Online Store
In September of last year, Kesko Group opened the K-Citymarket online store, offering a wide range of home and beauty products as well as toys.
The new website allows shoppers to search for more information about a specific product, or check its availability at the nearest K-Citymarket store.
