German retail giant Metro AG today (3 May) posted a net loss for its first quarter.
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The company said that profits were dented by its recent acquisition of Wal-Mart’s German stores.
For the three months to 31 March, Metro posted a net loss of EUR9m, compared to a profit of EUR7m for the first quarter of last year.
Earnings before interest and taxes fell 11% to EUR123m, from EUR138m, including EUR15m charge relating to the integration of the Wal-Mart stores.
First quarter sales were up 12% to EUR14.92bn, compared to EUR13.31bn last year. Sales were boosted by the group’s recent acquisition of 19 Geant Markets in Poland and 85 German Wal-Mart stores. Excluding these acquisitions, sales rose 7.8% the company said.
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By GlobalData“We were particularly successful in our growth markets Asia and Eastern Europe, but business also developed positively in the challenging markets of Western Europe and in Germany – although consumer sentiment in our domestic market was marred by the increase in value added tax,” the company’s CEO Hans-Joachim Koerber said in a statement.
Looking to the full year, Metro said it expects sales growth of 8- 9%, while EBIT should rise 6-8%.
