ICA Gruppen, the Sweden-based retailer, has reported higher profits but lower sales for the first full quarter since coming under new ownership.
Net profit stood at SEK320m (US$49.3m) for the three months to the end of June. That compared to a pro-forma figure of SEK244m in last year’s second quarter, if ICA had been then consolidated with Hakon Invest – the fund that took full ownership of the retailer earlier this year.
Net sales dipped 1.4% to SEK25.02bn, with sales in Norway, a challenging market for ICA in recent quarters, again lower.
ICA Gruppen was formed after Hakon Invest bought out its co-shareholder in ICA, Dutch retailer Ahold, earlier this year. Once Hakon Invest had 100% of ICA, a new entity, ICA Gruppen, was formed comprising ICA’s retail stores in Sweden, Norway and the Baltic states, as well as assets in areas like real estate and banking.
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