German retail group REWE has reported sales growth of 8.9% to €92.3 billion in its financial year 2023.
In Germany, REWE Group saw sales growth of 7.8% to €63.2 billion, while its international business reported an increase of 11.3% to €29.1 billion.
Excluding independent retailers and at-equity companies, the company's sales from continuing operations rose by 8.8% to €84.0 billion.
EBITA for the financial year increased by more than a quarter (25.6%) to €1.83 billion, while consolidated annual net profit increased 46.2% to €736.2 million.
"We set the right priorities and accents at REWE and Penny, which were appreciated by the customers. We see very good development in both the supermarket and the discount sector, but this also includes a corresponding inflation factor," said Lionel Souque, the CEO of REWE Group.
The retailer noted that 2023 continued to be characterised by a geopolitically and economically difficult environment due to the Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict, weather extremes and natural disasters, uncertain supply chains, price increases, high inflation and the resulting financial uncertainty among consumers.
Divisional Performance
In Austria, the Billa, Bipa and Adeg chains generated sales worth €7.8 billion, up 6.7% compared to the full-year 2022.
In the CEE region, Billa and Iki saw sales growth of 9% to €3.8 billion.
Penny Deutschland reported sales growth of 8.6% to €9.5 billion in its financial year 2023.
While the number of branches remained almost the same at 2,123 stores (2022: 2,135), the number of customers increased by 4.8% to almost 600 million.
Penny International, operating as a discounter in Italy, Austria, Romania, the Czechia and Hungary, saw sales grow by 17.1% to €7.7 billion.
For the third consecutive year, the chain saw the strongest growth in Romania, with a currency-adjusted sales increase of 25.4%, followed by Hungary and the Czechia.
REWE's convenience business area, including the national and international business of the Lekkerland Group, saw sales up 6.1% to €15.1 billion.
Sales in the company's DIY store segment fell by 2.7% to €2.5 billion compared to the previous year.
Tourism increased by 24.6%, with invoiced sales reaching €7.2 billion.
