German retail giant Metro Group has revealed it achieved a preliminary 2.6 per cent increase in sales to €67.3bn during 2010 compared with the previous 12 months.
The company also revealed that it expects its final pre-tax earnings to be around €2.3bn for the year, a record achievement for the group.
According to CEO Eckhard Cordes, the group's ongoing efficiency drive has been aided by 'positive currency effects' in a number of its international markets.
'Looking back, 2010 was a successful year for Metro Group,' he commented. 'We pushed our efficiency and value enhancing programme Shape 2012 consistently. Thereby, we have also laid the foundation for accelerating the international expansion.'
Sales in Germany fell by 1.4 per cent to €26.1bn during 2010, but were similar to those posted for 2009 when adjusted for store disposals and divestments.
International sales, meanwhile, rose by 5.4 per cent during the course of the year, but sales in western Europe (excluding Germany) grew at a slower rate, up 2.8 per cent at €21.5bn.
In eastern Europe, sales rose more notably, up 7.1 per cent to €16.9bn.
The most eyecatching growth came in Asia and Africa, where Metro's sales grew by 17.1 per cent to €2.7bn.
'Despite the difficult weather conditions during the important Christmas trading period, we reiterate our EBIT expectations of €2.3bn before special items,' Mr Cordes added. 'This would be a record profit for our company.'
The company's fourth-quarter sales were affected by adverse weather conditions which limited its sales growth to just 1.6 per cent (€19.7bn) during the Christmas trading period, the group revealed.
Sales during the three-month period in Germany were 2.6 per cent lower year-on-year at €7.9bn, whereas international sales rose 4.6 per cent.
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