Dutch wholesaler Sligro Food Group has posted a net profit of €81 million for 2017, a 9.9% increase compared to the previous year. The group said that this was largely fuelled by the company's new logistics partnership with Heineken.
This figure was €8 million more than the €73 million worth of profits the company recorded in 2016, with €7 million thereof coming as a result of the non-recurring book profit from its partnership with Heineken, which was finalised in December 2017.
The adjusted profits, excluding the effects of the Heineken deal, thus amounted to a €1 million profit increase, marking a rise of 0.6%.
This marks a recovery and return to marginal organic profit growth, after a decrease of 9.1% in profits in 2016.
Meanwhile, earnings per share were up by 9.6% to €1.83, and the wholesaler has proposed increasing the dividend to €1.40 per share, in part due to the company’s strong position in the marketplace.
Foodservice Performance
The company said that its Foodservice catering business outperformed the market, with market share growing to 24.4% in the Netherlands and 3.4% in Belgium.
Organic sales in Foodservice grew by 3%, down from 3.3% growth in 2016, while its Emté supermarket business grew marginally by 0.2%, down from 1.4% growth the year before.
The group as a whole experienced sales growth of 5.6% to €2.97 billion, with organic growth of 2.1%, down from 2.3% the year before.
Food Retail
Sligro's food retail is still lagging behind the market, however, and the company saw its market share fall to 2.5%.
“During the second quarter of 2017, we evaluated the Emté format and considered our future in food retail,” the company said in a statement.
“In the second half of the year, we looked right across the market for the strategic alternative that would create the greatest value,” Sligro continued. “The decision, based on our findings, was to start a formal process for bringing about a partnership or sale. This process can be expected to lead to a transaction during 2018.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
