Swedish retail group ICA Gruppen has posted a 1.6% increase in consolidated net sales in the fourth quarter of the year, of SEK 26.9 billion (around €2.84 billion).
Operating profit for the quarter stood at SEK 1.2 billion, including the costs of SEK 76 million associated with the acquisition and integration of pharmacy chain Apotek Hjärtat.
Profit from continuing operations (ICA Gruppen excl. ICA Norway) was SEK 784 million.
Last week, the group completed the sale of its Norwegian property holdings, while, in December, it boosted its presence in Lithuania with the purchase of the IKI chain.
“We ended 2016 with good momentum. Sales for ICA stores performed better than the market during the second half, which means that, based on preliminary market data for the full year, we grew our market share slightly, and we continue to show good growth for Rimi Baltic and Apotek Hjärtat,” commented the CEO of ICA Gruppen, Per Strömberg.
“In terms of earnings, we are in line with our financial targets and we have a strong cash flow. We have also completed the sale of the Norwegian properties and taken an important step towards increasing our footprint in Lithuania through the acquisition of IKI, which we communicated just before Christmas.”
Commenting, Barclays European Food Retail Equity Research said, “Overall, Q4 results are slightly above consensus expectations, with a good performance at ICA Sweden and Rimi Baltic, but slightly lower than expected at the Apotek pharmacy division.”
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up for ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
