The financial year 2022/23 was overall successful. In a challenging environment, we made good progress with the implementation of sCore and defended the market shares we had gained. Our consistent focus paid off. We made significant progress in the strengthening of delivery and the online business as well as in the optimisation of the wholesale approach of our stores. We built upon the growth of the successful previous year. For the coming year, we have set our sights high: we will continue to invest in growth and capture market shares.
Growth is our priority. Markets are growing structurally and, at the same time, are highly fragmented. This offers an enormous opportunity. In this market environment, our combination of wholesale stores, delivery service and online marketplace is unique – and highly attractive for the customer. The channels fulfil different customer needs and that pays off: multichannel customers buy significantly more.
We reached many milestones:
- Stores: roll-out of volume-based pricing model (‘buy more, pay less’), 75,000 SKUs since October 2022.
- Delivery: further expansion of the sales force (~750 employees added), assortment reduced by 250,000 SKUs. Corresponding reduction of complexity and creation of attractive delivery space (20 locations added).
- Digital: opening of METRO MARKETS in Portugal, the Netherlands and France (a total of 6 countries; 60% of HoReCa sales). Roll-out of the DISH POS payment system in France and Germany (a total of 4 countries).
- Sustainability: exchange of cooling systems, 21 additional photovoltaic plants.
- Portfolio: acquisition of Johan i Hallen & Bergfalk (JHB), Swedish delivery specialist for meat and fish, among other products, and sale of the business in India.
- Real estate transaction: sale of parts of the METRO Campus for approximately €200 million in earnings.
Achieving the milestones above paid off: compared with a strong previous year and in spite of Russia’s war in Ukraine and the cyberattack, we achieved 9%1 growth in sales – placing us in the upper half of the outlook range. Adjusted EBITDA1 declined by €170 million in line with expectations. The progress made regarding the strategic key performance indicators also speaks for itself:
- Wholesale value proposition: 74% strategic customers sales share, 22% own-brand sales share, 96% stock availability.
- Multichannel growth: 23% FSD sales share, 11% digital sales share.
The reported earnings per share (EPS) are €1.21 (2021/22: €−0.92). The increase particularly benefitted from a real estate transaction, the sale of the Indian business and positive non-cash currency effects in the financial result. In accordance with the attractive dividend policy (payout ratio of 45% to 55% of EPS), the Management Board and the Supervisory Board propose to the Annual General Meeting to pay a dividend in the amount of €0.55 per share for financial year 2022/23.
We have set ourselves ambitious goals for financial year 2023/24. And we are following a clear path to achieve these goals. We will continue to optimise our stores and focus on wholesale. We will also expand the delivery and the digital business. Our sCore strategy sets our customers in the focus, without compromise. This helps us achieve a great added value for customers – and our ambitious goals for 2030. WE ARE ON TRACK!
We expect a total sales growth of 3% to 7% for financial year 2023/24. However, this is countered by noticeable cost inflation and rising cost for IT security. Accordingly, we expect a change in adjusted EBITDA between €−100 million to €50 million. We can see that our sCore strategy is working. However, as already described, we are faced with major cost-related challenges in this regard. Overall, we nevertheless still expect a good development in line with our 2030 sCore targets.
None of this would be possible without the tireless efforts of our employees. We are working with a great deal of commitment as ONE METRO. Together, we will achieve the targets we have set for ourselves by 2030. We are doing what we do best – multichannel wholesale. Dear shareholders, we sincerely thank you for your support.
Yours truly,
Dr Steffen Greubel
Chairman of the Management Board of METRO AG
1 Adjusted for portfolio changes and exchange rates.
