French retail group Auchan has announced a mixed bag of results for the full-year of 2011 as it fought against 'tight operating conditions' in some of its key markets.
Auchan revealed that for the 12-month period, earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 5.5 per cent to just over €1.3bn, while net profit from continuing operations grew 15.5 per cent to €857m from €742m in 2011.
Overall revenues for the group came in higher by 4.4 per cent, up to €44.4bn from €42.3bn the year before, driven by growth of 13.6 per cent in central and eastern Europe and Asia.
French revenue climbed 2.4 per cent, the group said, and dropped 1.3 per cent in other eurozone countries including Spain, Italy, Portugal and Luxembourg.
'2011 was marked by the slump in consumer spending within the eurozone in mid-August, after a first half in keeping with our targets,' said Vianney Mulliez, chairman of the board of directors at Auchan. 'As a result, growth was largely driven by countries entered in recent years, particularly Russia and China.
'All in all, I consider these results to be very acceptable given the deterioration in economic conditions last summer and attribute all the merit to the quality of the work, the commitment and sales momentum of our 269,000 employees.'
Looking ahead to 2012, Mulliez said that Auchan was looking to strengthen customer ties, and work on product offerings and innovation.
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