Sweden news & analysis

Sales at Swedish retailer Axfood totalled SEK 18.5bn (US $2.8bn) for the first half of the year, ending June 2013, up 2.8% compared to the previous year. Growth in the first half Sales for Q2 – April to June – grew 2.9% to SEK 9.6bn (US $1.4bn) with like-for-like sales increasing 1.3%. Axfood’s sales for the first half were SEK 18.5bn (US $2.8bn), which represents a 1.7% like-for-like sal...

Leading UK foodservice wholesaler and distributor, Brakes Group has published its financial report for the year to 31 December 2012, showing total sales up 3.9% to reach £2,898m.  The group, now with operations across UK & Ireland, France and Sweden, achieved profit excluding exceptional items, depreciation and amortisation of £128.9m, up 1.0% on 2011. Strongest growth seen in UK The UK & Ire...

Couche-Tard’s total merchandise and services revenues in the fourth quarter increased by 9.3% to $1,766m, with net earnings increasing by 24.3% to $146.4m. For the full year, merchandise and service revenues increased by 15.1% to $7,596m, with net earnings up 25.2% to $572.8m. Investing in its European operations to drive efficiencies and growth These results are the first set to incorpor...

Dansk Supermarked has reported revenue growth of 4.6% for the first quarter of 2013, across all formats and countries.  Denmark shifting towards discount In Denmark , volume continued to shift towards discount stores as they benefited from more Sunday openings. Profit (EBITDA up 11.8%) was boosted by cost cutting, the turnaround of Netto in Sweden and closure of non-performing stores. ...

Metro Group has reported EBIT (before special items) of €14m, compared to €-8m in Q1 2012, due to earnings improvements at Real, Media-Saturn and other areas of the business.  Group sales down slightly Group sales for the period January to March were €15.5bn, a slight decrease of 0.9% vs. the previous year. This year included three fewer trading days, and the unseasonably cold weather af...

Sweden-based ICA has announced first quarter results for the three month period ending March 2013, saying that it generated sales worth SEK23.1 billion (US$3.5 billion) during the timeframe. Mixed performance across markets ICA reported that total sales had fallen by 1% during the three month period, but this performance hid differences between countries. Also, the retailer noted that when ...

Swedish retailer Axfood has seen the year start positively, with sales growth of 2.7% in the first quarter. Positive development Total sales for the three month period January-March reached SEK 8.9bn, up 2.7% year on year. Like for like sales grew by 2.3%. Group-owned stores performed particularly well, growing by 4.2%. Axfood delivered operating profit of SEK 254m. Developments in the peri...

ICA reports mixed results across markets, but delivered healthy growth and a strong profit performance in 2012. "A successful year" Full year sales totalled SEK 96.9m, up 1.8% on 2011, +4.2% at constant exchange rates and adjusted for the divestment of ICA Maxi stores in Norway . It also delivered strong operating profit performance of SEK 192m, growth of 11.9%. Commenting on the results,...

After announcing in September 2012 that it was exploring strategic options for its 60% stake in ICA, Ahold has announced that it will sell its stake in the business to Hakon Invest, which owns the remaining 40% in ICA. Sale to generate strong returns for Ahold Ahold said that the sale would generate SEK21.2 billion in cash, which includes ICA’s 2012 dividend of SEK1.2 billion. The company d...

At IGD we keep a close eye on innovation and developments in our  industry.  Here are our latest top picks from around the world.  McCain multi-sensory bus stop ads When McCain launched its new Ready Baked Jackets, it created 3D bus stop adverts containing heating elements. As people activated them, they released  the smell of slow-baked jacket potatoes. The posters were located at bus  shel...