Polish retailer and wholesaler Eurocash has posted revenues of PLN 5.48 billion (€1.28 billion) in the first quarter of 2019, a 10% increase on the same period last year.
Total EBITDA at the business increased to PLN 121.4 million, compared to PLN 39.6 million, mainly due to the implementation of IFRS 16 accounting standards.
Its wholesale business posted a 3.5% increase in revenue to PLN 4.11 billion, the group said, despite the shift in Easter, while its retail segment posted a 37% increase year-on-year, helped by acquisitions last year.
Acquisition Boost
Retail sales totalled PLN 1.33 billion for the period, of which around PLN 342 million was from acquired businesses. In 2018, Eurocash acquired the Mila supermarket chain and 25 Lewiatan stores.
Like-for-like sales in the group's Delikatesy Centrum business saw a decrease of 1.5% in the period, affected by both the calendar effect and the deflation of the shopping basket (by 0.8%).
Cross-Format Growth
"In the first quarter of this year, in wholesale, we achieved sales growth of 3.5% year-on-year, recording increases in almost every format," commented Jacek Owczarek, Eurocash's financial director.
"Considering that Easter this year fell in the second quarter, and not in the first as in the previous year, the fact that a drop in sales was recorded only in the distribution of alcohol should be considered a solid result," he added.
This year, the group is planning a number of further optimisation activities, including the integration of Eurocash Alkohole with Eurocash Dystrybucja, and the rollout of alcohol sales on its eurocash.pl e-commerce channel, it said.
© 2019 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.
