METRO again grows double-digit in Q2 2022/23 through consistent strategy implementation

11 May 2023

METRO continued its positive sales trend in Q2 2022/23, driven by the consistent implementation of the sCore strategy

  • Implementation of sCore growth strategy leads to continued positive sales development in Q2 2022/23
    • Sales grow by 10.5% in local currency, reported sales increases by 10.4% to €6.9 billion (PY: €6.2 billion)
    • Adjusted EBITDA reach €111 million (PY: €157 million)
  • Significant growth in all sales channels: sales in the store-based business grow to €5.2 billion (+7.4%), delivery sales to €1.6 billion (+21.0%) and METRO MARKETS sales to €24 million (+46.9%)
  • Sales growth in all segments except Russia
  • The net profit for the period1 amounts to €-107 million (Q2 2021/22: €-284 million), earnings per share increase to €-0.29 in Q2 2022/23 (Q2 2021/22: €-0.78)
  • Recent acquisition of Swedish delivery service JHB strengthens FSD growth from Q3 2022/23 and marks market entry in Scandinavia
  • The outlook for FY 2022/23 is confirmed

1 attributable to METRO shareholders

METRO continued its positive sales trend in Q2 2022/23. This was driven by the consistent implementation of the sCore strategy, supported by continued inflation. In addition, consumer confidence in the EU has recently recovered significantly and also the hospitality industry started the current financial year with a positive sales development. METRO's sales in local currency increased by 10.5% in Q2 2022/23, reported sales increased by 10.4% to €6.9 billion (Q2 2021/22: €6.2 billion). All sales channels (store-based business, delivery and METRO MARKETS) and all segments except Russia contributed to the growth. Adjusted EBITDA reached €111 million (Q2 2021/22: €157 million). The decrease is mainly due to the phasing out of post-transaction effects (Real).

In H1 2022/23, sales in local currency increased by 7.7% despite the sales loss during the cyberattack in Q1 2022/23 (low 3-digit million euro amount). The segments East, West and Germany in particular, contributed to the growth. Reported sales increased by 8.3% to €15.0 billion. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to €577 million (H1 2021/22: €678 million). The decline is due to the cyberattack (mid to high 2-digit million euro range) in Q1 2022/23, the phasing out of post-transaction effects (Real) and the expected and materialised cost inflation. The outlook for sales and adjusted EBITDA for the financial year 2022/23 as well as the mid-term ambitions are confirmed.

"We are fully on track for growth with sales growth of over 10% in Q2 2022/23. This is the result of a strong operating business due to our consistent strategy implementation as well as a further growing HoReCa sector benefiting from rising consumer confidence. METRO is growing in all channels and almost all segments and the wholesale optimisation of our stores and especially the expansion of our volume-based pricing model 'Buy More Pay Less' show visible success. In addition, our fast-growing delivery business achieved a record sales share of 24% in Q2. This picture is also confirmed by the strategic performance indicators: We are making progress in all key performance indicators and the strategic customer share, the sales share of our own brands as well as our digital footprint with METRO MARKETS and Hospitality Digital are growing steadily. We are thus well on track in the implementation of our multichannel business strategy and have excellent opportunities to use our strengths to gain further market share in the future", said Dr Steffen Greubel, CEO of METRO AG.

Sales and earnings growth by segment

In Germany, reported sales increased by 8.7% in Q2 2022/23. The HoReCa business performed well, and market shares gained were defended. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to €-10 million (Q2 2021/22: €-4 million). The decline is due to the expected and materialised cost inflation. H1 2022/23 sales increased by 5.8%. The implementation of the sCore strategy and the related introduction of a volume-based pricing policy ("Buy more, pay less") made good progress. This is also reflected in the sales development with HoReCa customers. Reported sales reached €2.4 billion. Adjusted EBITDA declined slightly to €75 million in H1 2022/23 (H1 2021/22: €79 million). The expected and actual cost inflation already had an impact.

In the segment West, reported sales in Q2 2022/23 increased significantly by 9.4%. Almost all countries contributed to this with 2-digit growth. In particular, the sales development with HoReCa customers showed a clearly positive development. The HoReCa business in France, Spain and Italy developed well and market shares gained were defended. In Q2 2022/23, adjusted EBITDA increased to €59 million (Q2 2021/22: €52 million). This increase is due in particular to the good sales development compared to the previous year. Transformation costs of €-1 million
(Q2 21/22: €0 million) were incurred. Sales in H1 2022/23 increased by 6,4%. The countries France, Italy and Spain contributed to this in particular. In addition, the delivery specialists Pro à Pro France, Pro a Pro Spain and Aviludo achieved 2-digit growth rates. Adjusted EBITDA decreased in the H1 2022/23 to €232 million (H1 2021/22: €254 million).

In , sales declined significantly by -14.4% in local currency in Q2 2022/23. Reported sales decreased by -0.7% and reached €0.6 billion. Adjusted EBITDA decreased to €20 million (Q2 2021/22: €34 million). Adjusted for currency effects, EBITDA decreased by -€22 million. The decline is mainly due to the difficult macroeconomic environment and an associated decline in margins. In the H1 2022/23 sales in local currency decreased significantly by -14,3% decline. The Russian war in Ukraine and the associated reluctance to buy had a negative impact. Furthermore, the business was significantly affected by the cyberattack. The previous year was also supported by stock-up purchases related to the war. Reported sales increased by 6.2% due to positive currency effects to 1.5 billion. Adjusted EBITDA in Russia decreased to €80 million in H1 2022/23 (H1 2021/22: €115 million). Adjusted for currency effects, adjusted EBITDA declined by €-63 million. The decrease is mainly due to the difficult macroeconomic environment and a related decline in margins.

In the segment East, sales increased by 21.0% in local currency in Q2 2022/23. In Ukraine, sales developed positively for the first time since the beginning of the war with +3.0%. Taking into account negative currency effects, especially in Turkey, reported sales increased by 14.4%. In Q2 2022/23, adjusted EBITDA increased to €50 million (Q2 2021/22: €44 million). Adjusted for exchange rate effects, adjusted EBITDA increased by €8 million. Sales in local currency developed clearly positive in H1 2022/23 at 17,8%. Almost all countries contributed to the positive development, mainly driven by the clearly positive development of the HoReCa business. Turkey recorded the largest growth in sales, strongly supported by inflation. In Ukraine, sales continued to develop resiliently despite the war and only declined by 12.3%. Reported sales of the segment East increased by 11,4%. Negative exchange rate effects, especially in Turkey and Ukraine, had an impact here. In the H1 2022/23 adjusted EBITDA in the segment East basically followed the sales development and increased to €196 million (H1 2021/22: €184 million). Adjusted for currency effects, EBITDA increased by €25 million. Transformation costs amounted to 2 million (H1 2021/22: €-5 million) and mainly relate to costs in connection with the sale of the Indian business.

In the Others segment, Q2 2022/23 sales increased by €26 million to €47 million (Q2 2021/22: €22 million) and includes in particular METRO MARKETS sales of €24 million (Q2 2021/22: €16 million). EBITDA adjusted was €-10 million (Q2 2021/22: €31 million). The decrease is due to the phasing out of post-transaction effects (Real) and further investments in digitalisation. Transformation costs was -3 million € (Q2 2021/22: €-1 million). In H1 2022/23, sales increased by €57 million to €98 million (H1 2021/22: €41 million) and includes in particular METRO MARKETS sales of €45 million (H1 2021/22: €31 million). The increase is due to growth in the digital business: strong growth of the marketplace in Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal. The sales of the POS provider Eijsink (first consolidation as of 31 March 2022 after acquisition by METRO Hospitality Digital) and the Günther Group (first consolidation as of 1 August 2022) also contributed to the growth. Adjusted EBITDA in the segment Others was €-12 million in H1 2022/23 (H1 2021/22: €47 million). Adjusted EBITDA also benefited from the license revenues from the partnership with Wumei, which will continue to accrue until April 2023. The decline is due to the expiry of post-transaction effects (Real). Earnings contributions from real estate transactions amounted to €203 million (H1 2021/22: €4 million) and resulted mainly from a real estate development project involving the sale of part of the METRO Campus.

As of 31 March 2023, the store network comprised 628 locations, thereof 535 out-of-store (OOS)2 and 65 depots. Due to the sale of the Indian business, the 31 Indian METRO stores are no longer included in the store network. Furthermore, two of the AGM locations, Klagenfurt and Bludenz, were divested due to antitrust requirements. In Q2 2022/23, 8 new locations were opened: 4 Out-of-Store locations and 4 depots. This is countered by closures in connection with country exits and the optimisation of the delivery business.

2 OOS refers to the existing METRO store network and includes METRO stores that supply directly from their own inventory as well as stores that operate their own depot within the store.

METRO Key figures H1 2022/23

METRO in figures
Key financial figures (€ million) H1 2021/22 H1 2022/23 Change Change in %
Sales (net) 13,849 15,004 1,155 8.3%
Adjusted EBITDA 678 577 -101 -14.9%
EBIT 182 369 187 -
Earnings per share in € (basic = diluted) -0.25 1.14 1.39 -

Multichannel development
Sales development (€ million) H1 2021/22 H1 2022/23 Change Ambition FY 2030
Store-based and other business 11,086 11,692 607 ~1.2x vs. 2020/21
FSD 2,733 3,266 534 > 3 x vs. 2020/21
METRO MARKETS sales 31 45 14 -
METRO MARKETS marketplace sales1 63 73 10 > €3 billion

1 Total volumes of METRO MARKETS platform (and third-party platforms) excluding VAT and after cancellations, but before any deductions; includes seller sales in full.


Network
30.09.2022 31.03.20231 Change Change in %
Stores & Delivery (number of countries) 31 30 -1 -3%
Marketplace (number of countries) 3 5 2 -
DISH POS2 (number of countries) 0 2 2 -
Stores (number of locations) 661 628 -33 -5%

thereof delivery OOS3 (number of locations)

(567) (535) (-32) (-6%)
FSD depots (number of locations) 64 65 1 2%

1 Due to the sale of the Indian business (closing expected in the first half of calendar year 2023), METRO India is no longer included in the country portfolio and the 31 Indian METRO stores are no longer included in the store network.
2 DISH POS is an all-in-one cloud-based POS system with solutions for the hospitality industry. The product was developed by POS provider Eijsink. After the acquisition by METRO Hospitality Digital in March 2022, the product was further developed and integrated into the digital Dish Tools offering.
3 OOS refers to the existing METRO location portfolio and includes METRO stores that deliver from the store on the one hand and stores that operate their own depot in the store on the other.


METRO segments sales and EBITDA figures in Q2 2022/23

Sales (€ million) Change (€) Currency effects Change
(local currency)

Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Total 6,245 6,897 23.7% 10.4% -2.6% 0.0% 26.3% 10.5%
Germany 992 1,078 2.6% 8.7% 0.0% 0.0% 2.6% 8.7%
West 2,531 2,769 47.6% 9.4% 0.0% 0.0% 47.6% 9.4%
Russia 575 571 7.9% -0.7% -7.9% 13.7% 15.8% -14.4%
East 2,126 2,432 16.7% 14.4% -5.0% -6.6% 21.6% 21.0%
Others 22 47 - - - - - -



Adjusted EBITDA Transformation costs Earnings contributions
from real estate
transactions
EBITDA

€ million
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Change
(€)
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Q2
2021/22
Q2
2022/23
Total 157 111 -46 -2 -2 10 0 169 114
Germany -4 -10 -6 0 0 0 0 -4 -10
West 52 59 8 0 -1 1 0 53 61
Russia 34 20 -14 0 0 1 0 35 20
East 44 50 6 -1 2 8 0 53 48
Other 31 -10 -42 -1 -3 0 0 32 -7
Consolidation -1 2 3 0 0 0 0 -1 2


METRO segments sales and EBITDA figures in H1 2022/23

Sales (€ million) Change (€) Currency effects Change
(local currency)

H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
Total 13,849 15,004 21.6% 8.3% -0.8% 0.6% 22.5% 7.7%
Germany 2,288 2,421 1.5% 5.8% 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% 5.8%
West 5,574 5,931 41.1% 6.4% 0.0% 0.0% 41.1% 6.4%
Russia 1,373 1,459 13.5% 6.2% 2.2% 20.5% 11.2% -14.3%
East 4,573 5,095 15.7% 11.4% -3.1% -6.4% 18.7% 17.8%
Others 41 98 - - - - - -



Adjusted EBITDA Transformation costs Earnings contributions
from real estate
transactions
EBITDA

€ million
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
Change
(€)
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
H1
2021/22
H1
2022/23
Total 678 577 -101 -6 -3 13 207 697 787
Germany 79 75 -5 0 0 0 0 79 75
West 254 232 -22 0 -3 1 4 255 238
Russia 115 80 -35 0 0 1 0 116 80
East 184 196 12 -5 2 8 0 197 194
Other 47 -12 -59 -1 -3 4 203 51 194
Consolidation -2 6 7 0 0 0 0 -2 6


METRO is a leading international food wholesaler which specialises in serving the needs of hotels, restaurants, and caterers (HoReCa) as well as independent merchants (Traders). Around the world, METRO has approx. 17 million customers who benefit from the wholesale company’s unique multichannel mix: customers can purchase their goods in one of the large stores in their area as well as by delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) – all digitally supported and connected. In parallel, METRO MARKETS is being developed as an international online marketplace for the needs of professional customers which has been growing and expanding continuously since 2019. Acting sustainably is one of the company principles of METRO which has been listed in various sustainability indices and rankings for many years, including FTSE4Good, MSCI, CDP and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. METRO operates in more than 30 countries and employs over 93,000 people worldwide. In financial year 2021/22, METRO generated sales of €29.8 billion. More information can be found at MPULSE.de, our online magazine.