Regional Spanish food distribution retailer Vegalsa-Eroski reported 12.1% year-on-year growth in revenue to €1.36 billion in its financial year 2022.
EBITDA amounted to €66.1 million, while net profit increased 1.2% to €32.5 million due to increased efficiency of operations, the company added.
However, profit on gross sales fell to 2.38% (-0.25%), as the Galicia-based company absorbed the impact of prices increases.
Sales of private-label products at Vegalsa-Eroski were up 2.7% year-on-year, while savings transferred to customers via the Eroski Club loyalty card promotions increased by 15%, to €20.9 million.
New store openings in 2022, as well as the refurbishment and expansion of existing facilities, boosted the footprint to 251,039 square metres and 281 outlets, under the banners Eroski (hypermarkets and petrol stations), Eroski Center, Autoservicios Familia, Cash Record, Eroski City, Aliprox and Eroski Rapid.
Capex amounted to over €24.4 million, for a total of €100 million invested over the past five years.
Commenting on the results, CEO Joaquín González [pictured] said, "The balance of the year 2022 is very positive, despite the fact that it has been a challenging period for the food distribution sector due to various events such as the war in Ukraine and the transport strike.
"In this context, we have focused our efforts on mitigating the effect of inflationary cost pressures and impacting as little as possible on the final price of products."
Vegalsa-Eroski
The Vegalsa-Eroski network, present in Galicia, Asturias, and Castilla y León, comprises 71% directly-owned stores, and 29% franchised outlets.
In 2022, the retailer boosted investment in local purchases by 14% year-on-year, to €455 million, which accounted for approximately 40% of its purchases.
In this period it collaborated with 1,113 local producers, which means that one out of every two suppliers is local.
In the e-commerce sector, the large-scale food distributor holds a 35% market share in Galicia through the eroski.es website.
Currently, it has 43 order preparation establishments, of which 28 feature in-store collection points with the click-and-collect and click-and-drive services.
For its part, the Eroski app reached 277,395 users in 2022, 84,280 more than in 2021 (+44%).
Vegalsa-Eroski is the market leader in Galicia with a market share of 17.1%, according to Kantar Worldpanel data.
