German retail giant Metro is satisfied with the results so far in its fiscal year 2017/18, but sees the need to take measures in the difficult Russian market.
Wholesale keeps on growing
Thanks to improvements in almost all segments, Metro registered a 0.7 % comparable turnover growth in the first nine months of its fiscal year. The wholesale division saw its comparable turnover go up 1 % in the third quarter and 1.2 % in the first three combined. Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia pushed numbers upwards and in Russia the group has taken important measures to reduce turnover decreases.
In a conference call, the group painted a mixed picture for the Benelux: “encouraging” results from the Netherlands were offset by a Belgian “ongoing need to restructure Makro“. Hypermarket division Real saw its turnover go down 7.2 %, despite an online turnover growth of 34 %. A threat to this chain is an ongoing struggle with German union Ver.di regarding a new agreement on wages.
In the third quarter, EBIT decreased by 38 % due to adverse exchange rate effects and difficulties in Russia, where EBIT went down from 71 million to 58 million. For the full fiscal year, the group expects a 0.5 % gain, despite the problems in Russia.
