1 Overview of financial year 2019/20and outlook

Unless expressly stated otherwise, all subsequent presentations refer to continuing operations. Furthermore, reporting of the results for the financial year takes the new leasing standard 16 into account (full retrospective application).

Financial year 2019/20 is characterised by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, but also by the successful sale of the hypermarket business and the majority stake in METRO China. With these transactions the transformation to becoming a pure wholesaler was successfully completed. The Management Board had also announced efficiency measures for financial year 2019/20. The costs of these efficiency measures, which mainly relate to personnel measures at the headquarters, have been reported separately since financial year 2019/20 as due to their non-recurring nature. Therefore, the following items are defined as follows:

  • Adjusted : EBITDA excluding transformation costs and earnings contributions from real estate transactions
  • EBITDA: EBITDA as reported in the financial statements, including transformation costs and earnings contributions from real estate transactions

Earnings position

  • Like-for-like sales declined by −3.9%; in local currency, sales declined by −4.0% and reported sales fell by −5.4% to €25.6 billion
  • The adjusted amounted to €1,158 million (2018/19: €1,392 million). Transformation costs of €47 million (2018/19: €0) were incurred; earnings contributions from real estate transactions reached €3 million (2018/19: €339 million). The reported EBITDA reached €1,113 million (2018/19: €1,731 million)
  • Profit or loss for the period (from continuing operations) amounted to €−140 million (2018/19: €427 million)
  • (continuing operations): €−0.40 (2018/19: €1.16)
  • For continuing and discontinued operations, profit or loss for the period amounted to €471 million (2018/19: €333 million) and earnings per share to €1.27 (2018/19: €0.89)

Financial and asset position

  • decreased to €3.8 billion (30/9/2019: €5.4 billion)
  • Investments totalled €0.6 billion (2018/19: €0.8 billion)
  • Cash flow from operating activities reached €0.6 billion (2018/19: €1.2 billion)
  • Total assets (continuing and discontinued operations) amounted to €13.2 billion (30/9/2019: €17.8 billion)
  • Equity (continuing and discontinued operations): €2.1 billion (30/9/2019: €2.3 billion)
  • Long-term : BBB- (Standard & Poor’s)
IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards)
Internationally applicable rules for financial reporting developed by the IASB. Contrary to the accounting rules under the German Commercial Code, the IFRS emphasise the informational function.
Glossary
Transformation costs
Non-recurring expenses related to the focus on the wholesale business and the restructuring measures resulting from this realignment are presented separately in the financial reporting as transformation costs.
Glossary
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation)
Profit or loss before interest result, income taxes, depreciation/amortisation/impairment losses/reversals of impairment losses on property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and investment properties. This key figure serves the purpose of comparing companies with accounting systems that follow different accounting rules.
Glossary
EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation)
Profit or loss before interest result, income taxes, depreciation/amortisation/impairment losses/reversals of impairment losses on property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and investment properties. This key figure serves the purpose of comparing companies with accounting systems that follow different accounting rules.
Glossary
Earnings per share (basic/diluted)
The earnings per share (basic) are calculated by dividing the profit or loss attributable to the shareholders of METRO AG by the weighted average of shares in circulation. The earnings per share (diluted) give additional consideration to the effect of so-called potential shares, such as those issued in the context of stock options.
Glossary
Net debt
The net debt results from the balance of the financial liabilities (including from leases), cash and cash equivalents less financial investments. Financial investments include short-term bank deposits and short-term liquid debt instruments.
Glossary
Rating
In the financial sector, rating represents the systematic, qualitative measurement of creditworthiness. Ratings are expressed in various grades of creditworthiness. Renowned agencies that issue ratings are Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch.
Glossary