Spanish retailer El Corte Inglés reported double-digit growth in EBITDA to €520 million in the first half of its financial year.
El Corte Inglés reported a 'solid' first-half performance, with revenue growth of 3.6% in comparable sales terms, a significant improvement in profitability, and significant deleveraging.
The company's net profit grew by 11% year on year to €203 million, with its retail unit witnessing 3.2% growth on a like-for-like basis, it noted.
The retail division saw good margin performance, especially in its own-brand home and fashion products, while sales from external brands, both national and international, also performed positively.
The company reduced its net financial debt to €1.9 billion, or 1.7 times its EBITDA.
In absolute terms, El Corte Inglés reduced its debt by €195 million since August 2023.
Divisional Performance
The company's travel and leisure unit Viajes El Corte Inglés saw sales up 6.1% and revenue growth of 10.3% as it consolidated its position in the holiday segment.
Its financial businesses consolidating their position in their respective sectors of activity in this period.
Seguros El Corte Inglés grew its revenue by 6.1% year on year, to €137 million, while Financiera El Corte Inglés saw revenue and net profit growth of 6.3% and 61.7%, respectively.
Recently, Spain's Organización de Consumidores y Usuarios (OCU) noted that the price of the average shopping basket fell by 0.58% in September, while the accumulated decrease since June stands at 0.7%.
The OCU Price Observatory tracks the price of 100 typical products that are bought in supermarkets, taking into account eight different retail chains: Alcampo, Carrefour, Día, Mas, Ahorramas, Lidl, Mercadona and El Corte Inglés. The assessment includes both private label and A-brand products.
