Metro Q1 Loss Widens, But Sales Up The Metro Group

Net loss for the quarter amounted to E4.0m, from E1.0m last year; while EBIT amounted to E152m. However, sales rose 7.3% to E15.6bn, helped by strong growth in Eastern Europe.

 Germany's largest retailer, has
revealed a wider first-quarter loss, which it attributed to currency
fluctuations that affected euro-denominated loans. Metro re-iterated
its forecast for sales growth of over 6% this year, down from 2007's
8.5% growth.
Sales outside the domestic German market amounted
for around 60% of total sales. Its eastern Europe operations saw
sales rise by 21.6%, while sales in Asia rose 17.2%. Total sales in
Germany, however, edged up just 0.9% to E6.3bn.
Operating profit
at its Cash & Carry wholesale division rose 11% to E113m, as
sales rose 7% to E7.47bn, and same-store sales rose 4.6%. The Media
Markt and Saturn electronic chains saw EBIT rise 8.7% to E75m, while
sales rose 10.5% to E4.36bn. At the Real hypermarket division, the
quarterly loss shrank to E40m, from E45m last year, even as sales
grew 6.4% to E2.76bn. And at the Kaufhof department store division,
its loss narrowed to E21m, from E23m last year; although sales fell
1.3% to E800m.