Lithuania’s Maxima Grupė has reported year-on-year revenue growth of 6.5%, to €2.18 billion, in the first half of its financial year ended 30 June 2021.
The company’s consolidated like-for-like retail revenue increased by 2.3% (2.5% at constant exchange rates), despite COVID-19 related restrictions still impacting sales.
Karolina Zygmantaitė, Maxima Grupė’s chief financial officer, said, “[The retail] group was able to maintain its profitability levels stable, despite challenges of continued COVID-19 pandemic and increased tax burden due to introduced retail tax in Poland.”
Regional Performance
Revenue in the Baltics grew by 5.7%, with all countries in the region demonstrating positive LFL growth, with Lithuania reporting LFL growth of 3.5%, followed by Estonia at 1.6% and Latvia at 0.2%.
LFL growth in Latvia remained to be impacted by strict measures related to COVID-19, the company noted.
Maxima Grupė continued its expansion in Poland in the first half and witnessed revenue growth of 8.3% (11.4% at constant exchange rates) in the country.
In Bulgaria, revenue increased by 8.9%, driven by new store openings in the past twelve months.
Both countries witnessed solid LFL revenue growth, with Poland’s LFL at 2.5% (3.7% at constant exchange rates) and Bulgaria’s at 2.1%.
E-Commerce Sales
The company’s e-commerce channel posted a sales growth of 71.3% in the first half of 2021, compared to the same period last year, driven mainly by the performance of e-grocer Barbora in the Baltics.
Barbora launched operations in the Polish capital, Warsaw, in this period.
The business continued to expand in Poland at the beginning of the second half by entering four cities – Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot and Łódź.
Last month, Maxima Latvija announced plans to increase its sourcing capabilities from Latvian producers, investing some €30 million in sourcing local products.
In July, the company was awarded a platinum rating in the Sustainability Index, based on its performance and positive impact on society, the environment, and Latvia as a whole.
