The recent acquisition of the Suomen Lähikauppa business has boosted Finnish retail conglomerate Kesko's first quarter sales by 29%, with the group posting net sales for January to March of €2,597 million.
If acquisitions and disposals are excluded, sales were up 2.4%. As well as the Suomen Lähikauppa acquisition, Kesko also recently announced the disposal of its Russian grocery business.
Operating profit was €16.6 million for the quarter, down from €33.5 million a year earlier, again as a result of the recent acquisition.
Profitability
"Profitability and the return on capital employed remained at a good level despite significant renewal projects," said Kesko president and chief executive, Mikko Helander.
"The extensive chain renewal going on in the grocery trade is progressing well. Following the acquisition of Suomen Lähikauppa in April 2016, more than 400 Siwas and Valintatalos will be converted into K-Markets by spring 2017 and transferred to retailers in stages by the end of 2018."
By the end of March, 382 stores had already been converted and 49 had been transferred to retailers, Helander added. "The renewal enables K Group to offer the most comprehensive and service oriented neighbourhood store network in Finland."
Kesko also announced in the release that since the beginning of the year, all electricity it purchases Finland is renewable.
© 2017 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.
