Slovenia’s Mercator Group has posted a 0.4% year-on-year growth in sales revenue to €1.06 billion in the first half of its financial year.
The company reported a 58.4% jump in net profit amounting to €2.36 million. Capex for the period was €9.7 million, the retailer said.
Sales Growth
Mercator's sales grew 3% year-on-year to €442.5 million in its home market, representing 57.1% of its total sales in the first six months of its financial year.
Serbia accounted for 31.8% of sales, while Bosnia and Herzegovina generated 5.2%, followed by Montenegro at 4.9%.
During this period, Mercator Group completed the divestment of 10 shopping centres in Slovenia to Austria’s Supernova for €124.4 million.
Since January 2019, Mercator Group launched 10 new retail outlets, adding 6,293 square meters to its gross retail area. It also renovated 23 units.
The retail group comprised 979 FMCG retail units, 20 wholesale units, and 178 franchise stores, by the end of the first half.
Growth Plans
Mercator is constructing a new logistics and distribution centre in Ljubljana - its largest investment ever.
It is also planning to expand the logistics capacities of its sales network in Serbia.
Mercator sees a major growth opportunity in Serbia through takeovers, as the retail industry is expected to consolidate soon.
Retail units of Mercator–S are present in 52% of all Serbian municipalities, which places Mercator among the top retailers in the market.
Mercator has increased its gross operating profit by 72% in the past two years, and reduced its net financial debt by more than €152 million in one year.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
