Investments / Divestments

In financial year 2017/18, the continuing and discontinued segments of METRO invested €811 million, slightly less overall than the investment volume in the previous year. Adjusted for the acquisition of Pro à Pro in the previous financial year, investments in IT and digitalisation, concept changes and lease extensions increased. The investments made by the continuing business segment amount to €600 million in financial year 2017/18. The discontinued segment reported an investment volume of €211 million. With 14 new store openings in financial year 2017/18, expansion activity increased slightly compared to the previous year (2016/17: 13 new store openings).

METRO Wholesale invested €408 million in financial year 2017/18. Its investments thus amount to €140 million less than in the previous year. This considerable decline in investments is primarily due to the acquisition of the delivery specialist Pro à Pro in financial year 2016/17. Adjusted for this effect, the investment volume is at the previous year’s level. METRO Wholesale continues to focus on optimising its investment processes. This includes the capital-efficient expansion of its delivery business and selective expansion involving smaller, more cost-effective formats. In financial year 2017/18, expansion efforts focused on China and Russia. We added 5 and 4 new METRO stores, respectively, to the existing store network in these countries. The opening of 3 new METRO stores in India advanced our expansion on the subcontinent. Our store network in Belgium and France gained one new METRO store each. One store each closed down in China, Germany, Italy and Poland.

In financial year 2017/18, Real invested €209 million. These investments were made entirely in the discontinued segment. They correspond to a €78 million increase compared to the previous year. This increase in investment is mainly due to the extension of leases for multiple stores. Several Classic stores were renovated. Real closed 3 stores in Germany during financial year 2017/18, 2 of which are only temporary closures due to renovation work.

Investments in the Others segment totalled €196 million in financial year 2017/18 (2016/17: €149 million). The vast majority of these investments was made in the continuing segments; in particular, IT and digitalisation (for example expansion of digital services for wholesale customers and IT solutions for the delivery business), project development, modernisation measures as well as the expansion of the logistics network in Germany.

Divestments (including disposals but excluding financial investments) generated cash for METRO in the amount of €324 million (2016/17: €211 million) mainly resulting from the sale of real estate.