Swedish retailer Axfood has booked drop in third-quarter profits as earnings were hit by costs related to store closures.
In the three months to the end of September, profit after tax fell 0.7% to SEK265m (US$39.7m), which Axfood attributed to non-recurring costs associated with store closures in the period.Operating profit also dropped, to SEK368m from SEK370m a year earlier.
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However, sales climbed 3.5% to SEK9.04bn, with like-for-like sales unchanged in the period.
Retail sales for group-owned stores increased by 3%. Axfood said a number of different marketing activities contributed to group sales growth and to strengthening the Hemköp brand.
“Focus is now on attractively priced customer offers aimed at boosting sales,” the company said, adding that it sees “no major changes” in the market outlook for the remainder of the year.
