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METRO Group Continues on Growth Course

18.05.2005

METRO Group Continues on Growth Course

METRO Group is consistently continuing on its dynamic, international growth course. This was stressed by CEO Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Düsseldorf: "We will appreciably extend our market presence, in particular in the growth regions in Eastern Europe and Asia. A focus will be on Russia and China where we plan to swiftly expand our store networks."

In Russia, Metro Cash & Carry plans to open eight new stores this year alone and by year’s end it will rank among the largest retail companies in the country operating more than 20 locations with a staff of over 10,000. Over the next years the outlet network is to be extended to around 50 wholesale stores. Moreover, the sales division Real is scheduled to open its first hypermarket in Moscow in mid-2005. In China, Metro Cash & Carry will be operating around 30 locations by late 2005. The number of stores in China is to be re-doubled over the medium term.

Looking back to the fiscal year under review, Körber informed the roughly 2,000 stockholders of the METRO Group attending the Annual General Meeting: "2004 was a successful year for our company. Contrary to the weak industry trend the METRO Group was able to once again substantially raise sales and earnings. Broken down by regions, we achieved the strongest growth with our operations in Eastern Europe." Group sales rose by a total of 5.3 percent to € 56.4 billion, net of currency effects by 5.5 percent. International sales climbed by 9.2 percent. The share of international business in group sales improved once again, namely from 47.2 to 49.0 percent.

Prior-year earnings growth was appreciably outperformed in 2004: profit from operating activities before goodwill amortization (EBITA) rose by 13.8 percent to € 1.81 billion. Earnings per share prior to goodwill amortization grew 7.7 percent. Without the one-time expenses for the sustained streamlining of the Extra store portfolio, earnings per share rose by 10.4 percent. "We have achieved our goal of improving earnings per share by 6 to 10 percent. This underlines the strong performance of the METRO Group", said Körber. Once again, a major share of earnings was generated outside of Germany – a consequence of the company’s consistent internationalization policy.

The company value of the METRO Group, too, continued to rise in 2004. Compared with the prior year, the economic value added (EVA) improved by € 114.2 million to € 317.9 million. "Since the introduction of the EVA in 1999 the METRO Group has been able to continuously improve this value. This attests to our company’s successfully continued strategy of profitable growth", said Körber.

The growth course will be consistently pursued also in the year 2005. With a first-quarter sales growth of 4.2 percent the METRO Group laid a solid foundation for the current fiscal year. EBITA of the sales divisions climbed 4.6 percent during the same period.

At the Annual General Meeting, Körber confirmed the targeted full-year sales growth of 5 to 6 percent for fiscal 2005. Moreover, the METRO Group expects earnings per share to improve by 8 to 12 percent.

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