Sonae MC, which operates the Portuguese retail chain Continente, has posted a 2.8% increase in like-for-like retail sales in full-year 2018, of €4.16 billion.
The retail business, which is part of the overall Sonae conglomerate, posted total sales growth of 7.0% for the year.
Like-for-like sales in the fourth quarter were up 3.6% at Sonae MC, with the retailer saying that this growth was fuelled by positive results in its proximity business, as well as on the back of a strong Christmas.
Sonae MC ended the year with an additional 13 Continente Bom Dia and three Continente Modelo stores.
'Significant Reinforcement'
“Sonae MC reached another strong year with a significant reinforcement of its market leadership," said Luís Moutinho, Sonae MC chief executive.
"Total sales surpassed €4 billion, with the highest LfL sales growth of the last 10 years and with all formats posting positive LfL figures, particularly the proximity stores. This performance clearly shows that the fine tuning of our value proposition has been well received by our customers and gives us strong confidence for the future.”
Across the entire Sonae Group, retail sales were up 7.6% year-on-year to €6.32 billion, including a 9.3% increase in the fourth quarter of the year.
Its Worten consumer electronics and media business saw sales up 7.6% to €1.1 billion, while Sonae Sports & Fashion saw 1.9% growth to €369 million, and its ISRG (Iberian Sports Retail Group) banners grew sales by 15.9%.
Total online sales surpassed €150 million in 2018, across all retail businesses.
© 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.
