Metro Group meets expectations despite turnover drop

Like-for-like growth at Cash & Carry

Metro’s total turnover reached 59.2 billion euro, a 1.2 % drop mostly because of negative exchange rate fluctuations. Prior to exchange rates, turnover had grown 0.5 %. The like-for-like turnover for the full fiscal year grew 1.5 %, while the fourth quarter turnover alone reached 14.2 billion euro (- 1.1 %), but that was also a 1.3 % like-for-like growth.

Metro Cash & Carry‘s full-year turnover dropped 2.7 % to 29.7 billion euro, but without exchange rate fluctuations, turnover remained stable and even experienced a 0.9 % like-for-like growth. In the fourth quarter, turnover dropped 3.2 % to 7.4 billion euro. In its home territory, Germany, it experienced slower fourth quarter like-for-like turnover drop, while there was a like-for-like turnover growth almost throughout the rest of Europe.

Real keeps shrinking

Multimedia group Media Saturn‘s turnover grew 3.6 % to 21.7 billion euro (+ 3.1 % on a like-for-like basis), while fourth quarter turnover grew 3 % to 5.1 billion euro. The major growth countries in Western Europe were the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and Sweden.

Department store chain Real dealt with a 2.6 % turnover drop to 7.7 billion euro, which was even a 0.8 % like-for-like turnover drop. The fourth quarter numbers are even worse, with a 3.6 % turnover drop and a 1.6 % like-for-like turnover drop compared to the year before.

Metro Group had 2,068 stores on 30 September, 5 more than a year before (excluding Galeria Kaufhof’s stores that were sold). Real and Metro Cash & Carry both lowered their number of stores (- 14 and – 2 respectively), but Media-Saturn added another 21 stores in a year’s time.

Metro Group sold Galeria Kaufhof to Hudson’s Bay for 2.8 billion euro before the summer, a higher sum than expected. Metro will use the money for acquisitions and to improve its chains’ customer service and online sales.