Swedish retailer ICA Gruppen saw store sales up 1.4% year-on-year in June to SEK11.8 billion (€1.2 billion), excluding VAT.
Sales in like-for-like stores increased by 1.2% compared to the same period last year, the retailer added.
The retailer's convenience store chain, ICA Nära, emerged as the strongest performer, with like-for-like sales growth of 2.5% to SEK 1.8 billion.
It was followed by Maxi ICA Stormarknad, with like-for-like growth of 1.4% to SEK 3.9 billion.
ICA Supermarket and ICA Kvantum banners registered a growth of 0.8% to SEK3.3 billion and 0.6% to 2.8 billion, respectively.
Year-To-Date Performance
Between January-June 2021, ICA Gruppen generated sales worth SEK 65.1 billion, up 1.3% year-on-year compared with the previous year.
ICA Nära reported the strongest performance in this period, with like-for-like sales up 2.4% to SEK 9.7 billion.
Maxi ICA Stormarknad registered a 2.1% like-for-like sales growth to SEK 21.2 billion.
Elsewhere, ICA Kvantum witnessed a 0.5% like-for-like sales growth to €15.8 billion, while like-for-like sales in ICA Supermarket declined by 0.1% to SEK 18.5 billion.
The calendar effect in June is estimated to be 0%, ICA noted.
In May of this year, the Swedish retailer reported 0.2% year-on-year growth in sales to SEK 11.2 billion (€1.1 billion), with the ICA Nära convenience stores arm emerged as its strongest performer.
The retail chain reported a profit of SEK 984 million (€97.2 million) in the first quarter of 2021, including the net result of divestments and impairment losses, totalling SEK 26 million. It reported a 2.6% year-on-year growth in store sales, to SEK 31.3 billion (€3.07 billion) excluding VAT, in the three months ended March 2021.
