Benelux-based discount retailer Action has posted 3.2% like-for-like sales growth in full-year 2018, to €4.2 billion.
Net sales growth was up 23.3% due to new-store additions, while in 2018, the group accelerated the pipeline for five new distribution centres.
Operating EBITDA increased by 16.3%, to €450 million, up from €387 million in 2017.
“The fundamentals of Action’s proposition and business model remain compelling,” said Adrian Bellamy, the group's chairman.
“Action performed very well last year, particularly considering the significant challenges facing many of the retail concepts across our markets, and I would like to express the appreciation of the board to all our employees. Action will continue to invest in growth and a more resilient supply chain to support this growth,” added Bellamy.
Challenging Year
Action, which largely sells non-food products, reported that the year 2018 was a 'challenging' one for the European retail sector, with its business impacted by weather issues in France and Germany, as well as the gilets jaunes protests in France.
The group boasts a total of 378 stores in the Netherlands, 172 in Belgium and Luxembourg, 288 in Germany, 424 in France, 38 in Austria and 25 in Poland, giving it a total of 1,325 stores as of the end of 2018 – 230 more than the previous year.
“Action remains focused on its international growth strategy, with the ambition to become a €10 billion sales company over the medium term,” added chief executive Sander van der Laan.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
