Swedish retailer Axfood has recorded an operating profit of SEK 408 million (€44.5 million) in Q1 2016, a 0.5-per-cent increase from the same period last year.
Consolidated sales amounted to SEK 10,395 million, an increase of 8.7 per cent compared to the first three months of 2015. Like-for-like sales increased by 5.2 per cent.
Axfood, which owns the Willys and Hemköp chains, as well as the Tempo, Handlar’n and Direkten formats, saw its net profits increase to SEK 316 million.
Commenting on the results, Axfood's chief executive, Anders Strålman, said, "The growth during the quarter entailed that we strengthened our position and gained market share.
"We maintained our profitability and posted the best operating profit ever for the first quarter. Axfood expects operating profit for 2016 to exceed the outcome for 2015."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by John Golden. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
