Sales and earnings development

Development of group sales by region

At €12.0 billion, reported sales in Germany were 2.6% lower than in the previous year. Like-for-like sales decreased by 1.7%. Following a difficult first half of the year during which sales at METRO Wholesale and Real declined considerably, the trend improved significantly during the second half of the year.

The reported sales in the international business increased by 3.7% to €25.2 billion. This is especially due to the opening of new stores and the acquisition of Pro à Pro. Currency effects also played a part. International sales rose by 3.0% in local currency. Like-for-like sales increased by 1.6%. The international share of total sales stood at 67.8% (2015/16: 66.4%).

The reported sales in Western Europe (excl. Germany) increased by 3.6% to €10.5 billion. This is especially due to the acquisition of Pro à Pro. Like-for-like sales decreased slightly by 0.3%.

The reported sales in Eastern Europe increased by 4.5% to €10.3 billion. Especially positive currency effects in Russia influenced this development. Particularly positive sales trends were recorded in Turkey. Sales rose by 1.8% in local currency. Like-for-like sales increased by 2.3%.

The reported sales in Asia increased by 2.3%. All countries contributed to this positive development. Sales rose by as much as 4.2% in local currency. Like-for-like sales climbed by 4.7%.

The reconciliation from reported sales to like-for-like sales in local currency is shown in the following:

Group sales of METRO 2016/17

by regions

Sales and earnings development of the segments

METRO Wholesale (previously METRO Cash & Carry)

METRO Cash & Carry launched the New Operating Model in financial year 2015/16 to improve its business management. As part of the introduction of the New Operating Model, the METRO Cash & Carry countries were classified into the clusters HoReCa, Multispecialist, Trader and Others.

Supported by positive currency effects among other factors, METRO Wholesale’s reported sales for financial year 2016/17 increased by 3.0% to €29.9 billion. Since its acquisition in February 2017, Pro à Pro also contributed to the overall sales revenue with approximately €470 million. The company is one of the leading food service distribution providers (FSD) in France. Sales rose by 2.3% in local currency. Like-for-like sales increased by 0.9%. Like-for-like sales increased in all quarters and have now risen in every quarter for 4 years in a row.

The delivery business of METRO Wholesale continued to develop highly dynamically. Sales in financial year 2016/17 rose by more than 25% to more than €4.6 billion. The share of sales attributable to the delivery business for the entire year amounts to 15.6%. The acquisition of Pro à Pro has also contributed to this.

Sales of METRO wholesale 2016/17

by clusters

Reported sales in the HoReCa cluster rose by 3.1% in financial year 2016/17. Sales rose by 4.5% in local currency. Like-for-like sales increased slightly by 0.3%. Especially Turkey contributed to the growth in like-for-like sales, while Germany recorded a decline.

In the Multispecialist cluster, sales increased by 3.7% in financial year 2016/17. Sales rose by 0.5% in local currency. Like-for-like sales slightly increased by 0.5%. Russia and the Netherlands recorded declining sales, in particular, while China, Pakistan and India achieved significant increases.

In the Trader cluster, sales increased by 3.3% in financial year 2016/17. Measured in local currency, sales in the Trader cluster rose by 3.9%. Sales rose by as much as 5.5% like-for-like. With the exception of Poland, like-for-like sales climbed in all countries.

EBIT before special items amounted to €1,114 million (2015/16: €1,048 million), supported by positive currency effects amounting to €37 million. Adjusted for these effects, EBIT before special items improved by €29 million. This particularly includes 2 real estate transactions in China, which contributed approximately €80 million (Q2) and €30 million (Q4) to the result. In the previous year, material real estate transactions only accounted for €34 million. Before these real estate transactions and currency effects, EBIT before special items amounted to €47 million less than the previous year. This decline is in particular attributable to developments in Russia, the Netherlands and Belgium, which could not be offset by earnings improvements in most of the other METRO Cash & Carry companies.

EBIT at METRO Wholesale totalled €1,035 million in financial year 2016/17 (2015/16: €1,271 million). This decrease was due in particular to income from the sale of the activities in Vietnam during the previous year (€446 million). Adjusted for the one-time income gained from the Vietnamese sale in the previous year, the special items are considerably below the previous year’s level due to fewer restructuring activities.

On 30 September 2017, METRO Wholesale operated 759 stores located in 25 countries. Of these stores, 104 were in Germany, 239 in Western Europe (excluding Germany), 283 in Eastern Europe and 133 in Asia. Additional countries were covered by the activities of Classic Fine Foods and Rungis Express. Overall, METRO Wholesale has operations in 35 countries.

Real

Compared to the previous year, Real’s reported sales declined by 3.1% to €7.2 billion in financial year 2016/17. This was particularly due store disposals. Like-for-like sales decreased by 1.0%. After a difficult first half of the year, the sales trend stabilised over the further course of the financial year: following growth in the 3rd quarter, like-for-like sales increased by 0.6% in the 4th quarter.

Online sales continued to develop very positively. Again, it rose markedly by more than 50% to €105 million in financial year 2016/17. This positive development was driven by the integration of the acquired online shop Hitmeister.

EBIT before special items decreased from €105 million to €80 million. This is due to a decline in sales and increased expenses for advertising and the expansion of the online business. In many food categories, the development was influenced by continuing high competition, while lower personnel costs had the opposite effect.

In financial year 2016/17, EBIT totalled €19 million (2015/16: €108 million). This decline is primarily attributable to expenses incurred by the restructuring of the headquarters.

In financial year 2016/17, Real’s German store network was reduced by 3 to 282 stores.

Others

The Others segment comprises, among others, METRO AG as the management holding company of METRO group the procurement organisation in Hong Kong, which also operates on behalf of third parties, as well as logistics services and real estate activities of METRO PROPERTIES, which are not attributed to any sales lines. These include, for example, speciality stores, warehouses and head offices.

In financial year 2016/17, sales in the Others segment totalled €27 million (2015/16: €72 million). The decline can primarily be attributed to the disposal of 4 Real stores in Romania. Among other things, sales include commissions for third-party business through METRO’s procurement organisation in Hong Kong.

EBIT totalled €−201 million in financial year 2016/17 (2015/16: €−156 million). Special items amounted to €115 million (2015/16: €112 million) and primarily related to one-time expenses in connection with the demerger of METRO GROUP. EBIT before special items amounted to €−86 million (2015/16: €−43 million). This development was driven by lower real estate income (€60 million less).