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 previous year. 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 HoReCa 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 wholesale 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.