German retail giant Rewe said it has made a “successful” start to the year with a 3% increase in turnover in the first quarter.

Turnover for the three-month period totalled EUR8.9bn (US$10.6bn), a 3.4% increase over the same period last year.

The disclosure of first-quarter sales came as Rewe reported its financial results for 2009.

Despite the challenging economic climate, Rewe today (8 June) reported a 2.7% increase in consolidated turnover to EUR50.9bn for 2009.

Rewe’s “core” group companies – excluding at-equity entities and independent retailers – saw turnover rise 5.7% to EUR37.7bn. EBITA climbed 4.7% to EUR819m.

“The Rewe Group emerged in a strengthened position from the difficult year of 2009 for retailers,” said CEO Alain Caparros. “Our bold decisions and far-sighted acquisitions are paying off. The company produced positive results in every relevant key performance indicator.”

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The retailer said growth was “dynamic” in the “highly competitive” German market, where the group increased total turnover by 3.4% to EUR34.9bn.

Even though Eastern European economies were hit particularly hard by the economic crisis, Rewe said it managed to boost its turnover outside Germany by 1.1% to EUR16bn.

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