German Retailer Metro Profit Increases In 17-18 Financial Year

German retailer Metro forecast an increase in profitability in the 2017/18 financial year, driven by both its wholesale and hypermarket businesses after it reported flat earnings for the previous year.

Metro, which had already reported fourth-quarter sales, said quarterly earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) and adjusted for special items fell to 267 million euros ($313.89 million), including 49 million from real estate deals.

It said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) excluding contributions from real estate deals should rise by around 10 percent, with both its wholesale and real contributing to that improvement.

Metro, which runs wholesale stores in 35 countries as well as Real hypermarkets in Germany, said it expected sales growth in 2017/18 of at least the 1.1 percent achieved in 2016/17.