Auchan: multiplied profits in 2024 despite declining revenues

Declining turnover, rising profit

Auchan achieved net sales revenue of 366.3 billion forints in 2024, which is 0.63% lower than the 368.6 billion forints in 2023. Non-sales revenues also decreased, from 11.9 billion forints to 7.9 billion.

At the same time, the purchase value of goods sold also decreased – from HUF 259.3 billion to HUF 251.5 billion – while wage costs increased from HUF 36.6 billion to HUF 37.8 billion. At the same time, operating profit fell by 34.5%, from HUF 9.6 billion to HUF 6.1 billion, meaning that the company’s economic performance was weaker at the level of core processes.

Stabilization after a fluctuating period

The company’s after-tax profit therefore jumped in a way that operating indicators did not improve, and even deteriorated in several places. In light of this, the 6.9 billion profit can be seen more as a correction of the low results of previous years: Auchan generated a profit of 6.6 billion forints in 2020 and 8.1 billion in 2021, but in 2022 it slipped into a loss of 1.8 billion, from which it only began to recover in 2023.

Change of ownership and ambitious plans

The financial stabilization coincided with a serious ownership change. In November 2024, after four years of negotiations, Dániel Jellinek’s group, Indotek Group, acquired a minority stake in Auchan Hungary, but also acquired management control.

The Hungarian billionaire previously stated that his goal is to make Auchan the third largest player in the domestic food retail sector. Behind these ambitions may be a stable capital background and a market acquisition strategy, which – coupled with the profitable year – could give new impetus to the brand’s domestic presence.