Metro reports sluggish Christmas sales at Real and Media-Saturn

[BERLIN] German retailer Metro, which plans to split into two companies by mid-2017, reported that sales slipped 0.6 per cent in the critical Christmas quarter, due to weakness at its Real hypermarkets and sluggish performance in consumer electronics.

Sales for the October-December quarter rose 0.1 per cent on a like-for-like basis to 17 billion euros (S$25.8 billion), slightly below analysts' expectations for 17.2 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Smart Estimates.

The cash-and-carry business that serves independent traders, hotels and restaurants saw sales rise 0.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis, helped by growth in Spain, Turkey and China.

However, Real hypermarkets, which will be spun off later this year with the cash-and-carry business, saw same store sales fall 1.7 per cent due to a weak start to Christmas trade, while Media-Saturn consumer electronics had flat like-for-like sales.

REUTERS