Ceconomy Profit Fell in 1Q on Weak December Sales

   By Marc Navarro Gonzalez 
 

Ceconomy AG (CEC.XE) said Friday that its first-quarter net profit fell 11% year-on-year, citing Black Friday price reductions which pushed December sales into November.

The German retailer of electrical goods said net profit in the three months ended Dec. 31 fell to 108 million euros ($132 million) from EUR121 million a year earlier.

First-quarter revenue rose to EUR6.94 billion from EUR6.89 billion while earnings before interest and taxes fell to EUR258 million from EUR308 million. Ceconomy had previously said it expected sales of about EUR6.94 billion and an EBIT of about EUR260 million in the quarter.

The largest operator of consumer-electronics stores in Europe said the decline in earnings was attributable to the shift of high-margin December sales into a more competitive November, especially in Germany. It also cited negative effects in Italy, which it expects to overturn over the year.

The company confirmed its outlook for its fiscal year. It forecast sales to increase slightly and EBIT to grow in at least the mid-single-digit percentage range.

Ceconomy runs retail chains Media Markt and Saturn. It was created in July 2017 following the demerger of Metro Group into retailers Metro AG (B4B.XE) and Cecompany.

Write to Marc Navarro Gonzalez at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 09, 2018 01:28 ET (06:28 GMT)

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