Dutch store chain Hema‘s third quarter net turnover grew nearly 3 % and its like-for-like consumer turnover also went up slightly.
Still minor loss
Hema’s third quarter turnover reached 301.2 million euro, up 2.9 % compared to the year before. Its like-for-like consumer turnover also grew 0.2 %, the seventh straight quarter of consumer turnover growth. Its normalized EBITDA grew 33.2 % to 31.3 % but that did not prevent Hema from suffering another 1.6 million euro net loss. Nevertheless, that is a marked improvement compared to the year before, when it suffered a 28.8 million euro loss.
“We once again experienced a good quarter, despite the extraordinary warm weather in September. Just like in the previous quarters, turnover, margins and the normalized EBITDA once again grew. We mostly sold more clothing, household products and personal skincare products in 2016’s third quarter”, Hema CEO Tjeerd Jegen said.
Lower turnover in Belgium
“We are on course with our growth strategy, focused on revitalizing the Benelux market, our international expansion and online growth. Just like in the Netherlands, we rolled out our international store formula in Belgium. On top of that, we opened our 50th French store and we will continue our expansion in Germany.”
Hema’s largest growth came from France, with a 17 % turnover increase. Dutch turnover grew 1.5 % but German turnover dropped 2.9 %, while Belgium and Luxembourg also suffered a 1.6 % turnover drop.
