pdf (22.8 MB) - METRO Group

METRO GROUP : ANNUAL REPORT 2011 : BUSINESS
→ GROUP MANAGEMENT REPORT : OvERviEw Of ThE fiNANciAl yEAR 2011 ANd fOREcAsT
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GROUP MAnAGEMEnT REPORT
Overview of the financial year
2011 and forecast
sales of MeTRo GRoUp fell by 0.8 percent. eBIT before
special items totalled €2,372 million, 1.8 percent below the
same figure in the previous year.
Earnings position
→ sales of MeTRo GRoUp fell in 2011 by 0.8 percent to
€66.7 billion (in local currencies: –0.2 percent)
→ International sales decreased by 0.7 percent (in local
currencies: +0.4 percent)
→ sales in Germany dropped by 1.0 percent as a result of
store closures
→ Group eBIT before special items reached €2.4 billion
(previous year: €2.4 billion)
→ net profit for the period totalled €741 million (previous
year: €936 million) and included special items from shape
2012 totalling €238 million (previous year: €203 million)
→ earnings per share before special items amounted to
€2.63 compared with €3.12 in the previous year
Financial and asset position
→ Investments rose by €0.4 billion to €2.1 billion
→ Balance-sheet net debt increased by €0.6 billion to
€4.1 billion
→ long-term rating remained unchanged at “BBB” (standard
& poor’s) and “Baa2” (Moody’s)
→ Cash flow from continuing operations decreased by €0.4 billion
to €2.1 billion
→ p. 089
→ Total assets amounted to €34.0 billion, a decrease of
€1.1 billion compared with the previous year
→ at €6.4 billion, equity remained at nearly the previous
year’s total. The equity ratio rose by 0.5 percentage points
to 18.9 percent
Forecast of METRO gROUP
sales
The continued economic problems and slower price increases
are likely to have a negative impact on sales in 2012. on the
other hand, all sales divisions are taking various steps
designed to increase sales. Therefore, we expect a rise in
sales in 2012. In 2013, we anticipate the positive sales development
to continue as the economy recovers.
Earnings
MeTRo GRoUp’s strategy aims for sustained sales and
earnings growth.
The persistently challenging economic situation will dampen
earnings developments in 2012. MeTRo GRoUp will continue
to invest in its competitiveness in 2012. This will comprise
productivity measures under our programme shape 2012
as well as targeted price investments. In addition, we intend
to lay the foundation for an acceleration of our expansion,
which will also entail additional costs. However, in 2012 we
expect eBIT before special items to approximately reach
the previous year's amount (eBIT before special items:
€2,372 million), although the described burdens and economic
uncertainties make any forecast difficult at this early stage.
like sales, we expect earnings to rise in 2013.