Metro H1 sales down 2.3 percent

REPORT_ For the first half of the year Metro Group sales decreased by 2.3 percent.

For the second quarter Metro Group sales decreased by 3.6 percent. In Germany, sales in the first half of 2013 declined by 4.6 percent. Sales in Western Europe fell 9.1 percent in the first half of 2013 as against the first half of 2012. Like-for-like sales declined by 2.5 percent.

The international share in sales generated during the first half of 2013 increased from 84.4 percent to 84.6 percent. Metro is based in Germany. As at June 30, 2013, Metro Cash & Carry operated 746 stores in 29 countries.

Many Western European countries were still in recession in the first half and experienced declining economic output. The sovereign debt crisis remained the main negative factor. The divergence between robust core countries and crisis-ridden peripheral countries still continued. However, no country was immune to the economic crisis. After stagnating in the previous year, nominal retail sales showed a negative trend and are now down more than 1 percent year-on-year.