For shareholders of retail and consumer goods businesses, this is one of the biggest days of the year, with a myriad of firms having issued quarterly, half-year and full-year trading updates over the past 24 hours.
Here's a quick recap of some of the top stories – click the company name in each case for more information.
AB InBev – The reopening of bars and restaurants has provided a significant boost to brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev, which reported a 27.6% increase in revenue in the second quarter of its financial year. Total volumes were up 20.8% in the quarter, and by 17.0% in the first half.
Carrefour – Carrefour has seen a 3.6% increase in like-for-like sales in its second quarter, with France rising by 4.7%, and the group's French hypermarket estate up 4.3%. Commenting on its performance, CEO Alexandre Bompard said that it "reflects both the relevance of our strategic plan and the effectiveness of its execution".
Casino – French retailer Groupe Casino reported a marginal (-0.5%) decline in net sales in the first half of its financial year, however trading profit was up 24% at constant exchange rates, boosted by profit gains in France (+9%) and Latin America (+33%).
Danone – Danone saw like-for-like net sales rise 1.6% in the first half of its financial year, although sales were down 2.9% on a reported basis, and recurring operating income fell by 8.9% to €1.55 billion. The group has announced an €800 million share buyback programme.
Diageo - Spirits giant Diageo has reported net sales of £12.7 billion (€14.93 billion) in the full year to 30 June. In North America, the company's biggest market, sales were up 20%, as consumers traded up to more premium spirits.
Hershey – The confectionery giant has increased its annual sales outlook, following a 12.3% increase in sales at its core North America business in the second quarter. The group is now expecting full-year sales to be 6% to 8% higher than the previous year.
Jerónimo Martins – The Portuguese retailer, which operates Poland's Biedronka chain, closed the first half of 2021 with a net profit of €186 million, up an impressive 78.9% year-on-year. In Poland, its biggest market, it saw a 6.8% sales gain, to €7 billion.
Magnit – Russian retailer Magnit reported revenue of RUB 424.3 billion (€4.88 billion) in the second quarter of its financial year, a 9.6% increase. The group said that it is seeing a return to 'normalised' shopping behaviour, with store visits rising by 10.0%.
Metro – Wholesale giant Metro has reported sales growth of 12.2% in its financial third quarter, to €6.2 billion, with the business citing the reopening of the hospitality channel as a key driver of its positive performance. HoReCa sales in the third quarter were up 57%, it said.
Repsol – Fuel and forecourt operator Repsol reported a net profit of €488 million in the second quarter of its financial year, a marked improvement on the €258 million it reported for the corresponding period last year.
Verallia – Packaging firm Verallia saw first-half revenue rose by 7.7% at constant exchange rates, while EBITDA rose by 15.4% in the period, to €345 million.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
