Axfood, Sweden's second-largest retailer, has reported an increase of 6.7 per cent in sales in its third quarter, and an increase in operating profit of 21.9 per cent, compared to the same period in 2014.
The Q3 sales of SEK 10,412 million (€1118.38 million) and profit of SEK 552 million (€59.29 million) gives Axfood an operating margin of 5.3 per cent for the quarter, a 0.7-per-cent increase.
“We have had a fantastic quarter, with strong sales growth,” said Anders Strålman, president and chief executive of Axfood. “The increase was considerably better than the market, which means that we have gained market shares. The strong sales were better than our expectations and contributed to very good profitability for the quarter.”
The figures released by Axfood are preliminary and will be confirmed by an interim report later this month.
Axfood operates the wholly owned store chains Willys and Hemköp (pictured), comprising 258 stores in all.
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