Western European recovery pushes Metro higher

The German Metro group published positive quarterly results, especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. Thanks to recovery in Western Europe, the company is performing in line with expectations.

Growth through transformation

In the fourth quarter of its financial year, Metro achieved a turnover of 7.6 billion euros, a growth of 2.5% on a comparable basis. The group performed particularly well in Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) and Asia, showing revenue growth of 5.2 % and 5.7 % respectively. In Western Europe, Metro recorded a 2.2 % growth, significantly better than last year’s 0.7 % turnover drop. The group continued to benefit from favourable exchange rates, resulting in an increased total revenue of 3.9 %.

For the whole of the 2018-2019 financial year, turnover went up 2.4 % to 29.9 billion euros. This allowed the group to achieve its targeted growth of between 1 and 3 %. Comparable sales increased everywhere except in Russia, where they fell by 4.3 %.

“In the past financial year, we accelerated our sales growth as a result of our transformation into a fully focused wholesaler. Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) and Asia grew again on a high level. Western Europe has improved compared to the prior year”, CEO Olaf Koch said in a press release. “On this basis, we confirm the EBITDA outlook for the financial year 2018/19. After the sale of the majority stake in Metro China, our core customer groups HoReCa and Trade will account for 70 % of sales. We are very satisfied with this strategic progress.”