Portuguese retail group Sonae MC, which operates the Continente hypermarket chain, has seen its turnover increase by 5.3% in like-for-like terms in the first quarter of the year, to €940 million.
The group said that its performance reflects the ‘ongoing effort’ made by Continente to improve its value proposition and the quality of its fresh offering.
At the same time, Sonae MC continued to expand its Continente Bom Dia convenience store network, which opened its 100th store in April, while the group’s online sales also rose by 15% in the period.
"Sonae MC has been heavily invested in its value proposition and in fostering convenience for consumers, which has been recognised by our clients with their preference,” said Luís Moutinho, CEO of Sonae MC.
“Additionally, we are also leveraging our advantages towards the area of health and wellness with remarkable success: today we are already Portugal’s leaders in healthy food.”
In terms of health and wellness, Sonae opened two Dr. Wells clinics and four Well’s parapharmacies in the period, while since the close of the first quarter, it has opened its first ‘Go Natural’ supermarket in Oporto.
It also acquired the Amor Bio chain, including two organic convenience stores in Lisbon, meaning the group now operates a total of ten stores entirely dedicated to healthy and organic foods.
‘The work achieved in matters of operational efficiency and quality allowed to increase operational profitability, as the underlying EBITDA grew 12.7% to €34 million,” Sonae MC said in a statement. “The EBITDA margin improved to 3.7%, despite the impact of the network expansion and of the competitive environment.”
© 2018 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
