Asset, financial and earnings position

Overall statement by the Management Board of METRO AG on the business development and situation of METRO

Global economic growth in financial year 2017/18 was positive overall, with the rate of growth remaining similar to the . Trade disputes, however, continue to cause increasing uncertainty about future developments.

The Management Board can look back on a challenging financial year. METRO increased its like-for-like sales in a difficult market environment. In Germany, it achieved a slight improvement in like-for-like sales as a result of growth with customers; Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) and Asia recorded considerable sales growth. In Russia, the strategic transform- ation advanced after a challenging first half of the year, and the initiated measures are beginning to bear fruit.

Overall, the Management Board is satisfied with the company’s performance, especially because the adjusted financial goals were achieved. As a result, we will once again propose an attractive dividend to our shareholders.

On 13 September 2018, the Management Board of METRO AG also decided to initiate the sales process for the hypermarket business and to turn its full attention to the business.

The hypermarket business for sale is reported as a discontinued operation as of 30 September 2018 due to the ongoing sales process. The discontinued segment primarily includes Real and some other individual companies or assets. All following explanations of the business development focus on the continuing operations unless stated otherwise. The comparison of the forecast for financial year 2017/18 with the actual development, however, is made on the basis of the entire group including the hypermarket business.

Previous year
Period of 12 months, usually cited as reference for statements in an annual report.
Glossary
HoReCa
Short for hotel, restaurant and catering businesses. The HoReCa segment is an important customer group for METRO Wholesale.
Glossary
Wholesale, METRO Wholesale
The METRO Wholesale segment comprises the METRO Wholesale sales line of METRO AG with more than 769 wholesale stores across 35 countries worldwide. This also includes the delivery business (Food Service Distribution) with companies like METRO delivery service and the delivery specialists Classic Fine Foods, Pro à Pro and Rungis Express.
Glossary