Slovenia's Mercator Group has reported 2.1% growth in revenue to €1.6 billion, including retail revenue of €1.3 million, in the first nine months of its financial year.
Poslovni sistem Mercator d.d, the Slovenia-based parent company of Mercator Group, recorded 2.9% growth in sales revenue and a 5.2% increase in retail revenue.
The company saw the highest revenue growth in Bosnia and Herzegovina (3.7%) and Serbia (3.7%).
In contrast, a decline in tourism activity led to a drop in revenue in Montenegro (14.0%) and Croatia (4.8%), where Mercator operates only in the real estate business.
Quarterly Performance
Net losses for the period amounted to €69.1 million due to property revaluations, while normalised EBITDA amounted to €126.3 million.
Capex amounted to €22.9 million, with 60.3% going towards investments in Slovenia and 39.8% to foreign markets.
During the period, Mercator Group acquired 16 new retail units - three in Slovenia, five in Serbia, six in Montenegro, and two in Bosnia and Herzegovina - and a warehouse in Novi Banovci in Serbia.
As of the end of September 2020, the retailer had 997 retail units and 19 wholesale units, and 168 franchise stores.
Transfer Of Business
After the European Commission approved the transfer of Mercator Group from Agrokor to Fortenova Group in September, the company obtained permits from all competent competition authorities, except Serbia, where the retailer expects to get approval by the end of 2020.
The approval will pave the way for Mercator's transfer by the end of this year and allow it to operate under Fortenova Group's retail business in 2021.
© 2020 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.