In the Netherlands, supermarket and foodservice operator Sligro has reported that net profit reached €70.2m during fiscal year 2010, a drop of 5.5 per cent when compared with the previous 12 months.
According to the group, food retail operating profit actually climbed some €8m to a total of €13m, although foodservice operating profit dropped €15m to hit €78m.
Sligro's sales in 2010 were up 1.3 per cent at €2.3bn, with organic sales growth turning out at 3.6 per cent, the group noted.
'In tough trading conditions, Sligro Food Group was able to outperform the market by 4-5 per cent in both segments,' said Koen Slippens, CEO at Sligro. 'Several factors, most notably the non-recurring integration costs of our Greater Amsterdam project, the pressure on prices in the group's markets and the extra 53rd week in 2009, prevented us from equalling the record profit we achieved in 2009.
'Our market position in both foodservice and food retail improved in 2010 and the Greater Amsterdam project has created a solid base on which to build our profitability in the coming years,' he added.
