Slovenia's largest retailer, Mercator, reported €1.26 billion in revenue for 2022, a 2.6% increase on the previous year. However, the company closed the year with a loss of €1.81 million.
Mercator attributed the loss to escalating costs and the inability to fully pass on increased purchase prices to consumers, as reported by STA, the Slovenian Press Agency.
The core retail business of the company experienced a 1.3% rise in revenue to €987 million, while EBITDA decreased by 18.5% to €66.1 million. Net financial debt was reduced by 24% to €425.6 million.
Mercator anticipates an 8.5% growth in revenue, reaching €1.3 billion, in its 2023 financial year. The company plans to implement initiatives to manage wage and energy costs.
The ratio of net financial debt to normalised EBITDA at the end of 2022 was 6.4, indicating a 6.8% deterioration from 2021.
Market Share
Part of the Croatia-based Fortenova Group, and operating in both the retail and wholesale segments, Mercator held a 30.5% market share as of the end of 2022. The company's network comprised 670 sales units, including 464 stores and 145 franchise stores, along with 13 wholesale units.
Apart from retail and wholesale, Mercator is involved in construction, home products, catering, and real estate. In the past year, the company sold 19 properties and finalised contracts for three development projects.
At the close of 2022, Mercator divested its Croatian unit, Mercator-H, which merged with the Croatian company Konzum plus.
In spring 2023, Fortenova acquired Mercator-CG (Montenegro) and Mercator-BH (Bosnia and Herzegovina). In October 2023, it also acquired Mercator-S (Serbia).
Recently, the retail group signed a contract to acquire 100% of the shares in Engrotuš, overseeing approximately 260 Tuš stores across the country.
