Overall statement by the Management Board of METRO AG on the business development and situation of METRO
The Management Board looks back on a successful financial year. In a challenging environment, the multichannel business model and the sCore growth strategy proved to be extremely advantagous and led to strong growth.
The new sCore growth strategy including sustainability priorities was presented at the Capital Markets Day in January 2022. METRO has set ambitious targets until 2030 and will increase the growth pace in the coming years compared to the 2020/21 period. The implementation of the strategy is in full swing, and METRO was able to achieve initial successes during the financial year.
Financial year 2021/22 was also marked by various external factors. Covid-19 restrictions were lifted in almost all countries, leading to a return to normal business operations. Russia’s war in Ukraine, on the other hand, had a negative impact on the annual result, mainly due to currency effects, impairments and rising inflation.
Sales and adjusted EBITDA reached the upper half of outlook, which was raised twice. Accordingly, the Management Board is overall satisfied with the development of the business. The reported earnings per share (EPS) are €−0.92 (2020/21: €−0.15). The decrease resulted from currency-related negative effects in the net financial result (mainly non-cash relevant from intra-group relationships), effects from the sale of the Belgian business (transformation costs, partly cash-relevant) and impairment of goodwill and property, plant and equipment in Russia and Ukraine. Without these impairments, the profit or loss for the period would have increased significantly. In line with METRO’s dividend policy (payout ratio of 45% to 55% of EPS), there are no planned dividend distributions in financial year 2021/22 for preference shares or ordinary shares.