Polish retailer and wholesaler Eurocash has said that its retail sales grew by more than a third (34%) in the second quarter of the year, following the group's acquisition of Mila and Lewiatan stores.
The group acquired 180 Mila supermarkets in June of last year, as well as 25 Lewiatan stores in March of this year.
'Solid Growth'
Second-quarter retail sales at the group rose to PLN 1.5 billion (€340 million) as a result of the acquisitions, while first-half sales rose by 36% to PLN 2.83 billion (€640 million).
"These acquisitions added more than PLN 620 million to the Eurocash Group's sales in the first half of the year," commented Jacek Owczarek, board member and financial director of Eurocash Group. "We also achieved solid organic sales growth, both to Delikatesy Centrum franchise stores and in our own supermarket chain."
The group's Delikatesy Centrum banner posted a like-for-like sales increase of 8% in the second quarter of the year, and by 3.4% in the first half.
As of 30 June, the group currently operates a total of 1,560 stores across Poland, including 996 franchise stores and 554 company-owned stores.
An integration process across the group is 'proceeding as intended', Eurocash said, and this will see Mila stores be reconfigured and converted to Delikatesy Centrum stores during the third and fourth quarter, the group said.
EBITDA at the group's retail operation was around PLN 77 million in the second quarter, which Owczarek said was lower than usual due to the integration of the Mila and Lewiatan stores.
Wholesale Operations
In wholesale, Eurocash saw sales rise by more than 6% to PLN 4.89 billion (€1.11 billion) in the second quarter, while over the first half, sales were up 5% to PLN 8.99 billion (€2.05 billion).
EBITDA for the wholesale segment was PLN 177 million in the second quarter.
The group said that its wholesale business achieved 'higher sales in every format', boosted by the sale of tobacco products, which was up 10% over the first half of the year.
"We also achieved very good sales results in active distribution to our franchisees, where we recorded an increase of over 11% year on year," said Owczarek. "A decrease was recorded only in the distribution of alcohol, which was related to the change in the strategy of this business."
Overall revenue for Eurocash Group in the second quarter was PLN 6.44 billion (€1.47 billion), which was 12% higher than the corresponding period last year. In the first half, the group reported PLN 11.92 billion (€2.71 billion) in sales, an increase of 11%.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
