The German retailer network - Metro is optimistic about sales in the Christmas period due to the increase in same-store sales by 1.3 % in the last quarter of the fiscal year due to an increase in demand for electronics, the company said on Monday.
Due to currency fluctuations and liquidation of fixed assets, the sales of the German company fell by 1.1 % to 14.2 billion euro ($ 16.1 billion) for the quarter from July to September.
In the like-for-like format, the sales in the sector of retail and wholesale electronics rose 1.1 and 2.9 %, respectively.
Metro reported that sales of Media-Saturn, which is the largest European network of consumer electronics, showed an increase for the fifth quarter in a row.
The retailer, which will publish the results for the 2014/15 financial year on December 15, confirmed the forecast of profit before interest and taxes (EBIT). The company expects that this figure slightly exceeds the last year's mark of 1,531 billion euro.
The company confirmed that the net inflow of funds from sales of chain stores Kaufhof amounted to 1.75 billion euro, higher than the original forecast of 1.6 billion. According to the head of Metro, Olaf Koch, this suggests the possibility of further acquisitions.
In August, the company acquired the restaurant supplier Classic Fine Foods, located in Singapore, from EQT, a private equity firm, for $ 290 million, expanding its presence in the market for the delivery of food in Asia and Europe.
Last year in the same period, German retailer Metro (DE: MEOG) said the Danish cash and carry market is saturated and it is too small to compete with other retails, so there was a decision to sell the two stores and close the other 3. At that moment, Metro said previously the business had not been profitable for several years.
In May, Metro AG planned to invest Rs 400 crore to increase the number of its wholesale stores in India as part of a strategy to make the country a key focus market.