Makro parent cashes in despite Euro sales slump

Metro Group, the parent company of Makro Cash & Carry, has posted a 1% rise in first-quarter sales to €15.5bn.

Profits rose 6% during the period to €145m, buoyed by the retailer's ongoing Shape 2012 restructuring programme.

Sales at Metro Cash & Carry, rose 1.1% to €7bn following the division's exit from Morocco and the closure of seven other depots. But sales in Western Europe fell 1.8% to €2.6bn.

“With a view to the first four months of the year we have again already outperformed the year-earlier sales,” said chief executive Eckhard Cordes.

“This tells us we continue on a profitable growth course.”

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