Metro Group has posted a like-for-like sales increase of 0.1% in the first quarter of its 2016/17 financial year, with the retailer saying that it performed 'solidly in a challenging market environment'.
The group's EBIT after special items was €733 million, which is a decline on the €1,240 million for the same period last year, however that period included the income from the sale of Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam, the retailer said.
Sales were up in the group's cash & carry division, with delivery sales rising by 16.5%, now accounting for 12.7% of total sales. Real sales declined compared to the same period last year.
Earlier this week, Metro Group announced the completion of its purchase of French foodservice business Pro à Pro.
“We performed solidly in a challenging market environment during the first quarter of the new financial year, generating stable sales and EBIT and continuing our positive like-for-like sales development, particularly at Metro Cash & Carry,” said Olaf Koch, Chairman of the Management Board of Metro AG.
“The sustained increase in online and delivery sales testifies to Metro Group's successful transformation. We remain confident that we will achieve our full-year sales and earnings targets for Metro Group.”
Looking ahead, Metro said that it 'expects to see a slight rise in overall sales, despite the persistently challenging economic environment'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up for ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
