Colruyt has said it will not improve on last year's €338m net profit in the year to the end of March 2012, advising that it feels unable to pass on rising food and energy costs to struggling consumers.
The Belgian discounter told shareholders it would not meet the expectations of analysts polled by Reuters – they forecast an average 4.4 per cent rise in net profit to €353m – despite posting better-than-expected sales for the first quarter of 2011/12 (April-June).
Chairman Jef Colruyt told those at the annual general meeting that the group would "keep increasing our revenue and market share thanks to our consistent price strategy".
Looking further ahead, he said: "In the years to come we will pursue our growth. To do so we will use our talents, our joint mission and our key values to create sustainable added value over and over again."
