Metro group CEO: We have not seen the ceiling of price increases yet

For the most part, the price increases will be passed on to consumption, there is no more room for price restraint, said Aristotelis Panteliadis, CEO of the Metro group, but hoping that they will find a peak during the year.

According to Mr. Panteliadis, price increases are 2-3 months behind since the supermarkets receive the price lists from the suppliers, “trying to keep them steady as long as we can by buying large quantities”, as he said.

“In volumes we have a clear reduction in consumption, the consumer is now having a hard time“, Mr. Panteliadis noted during an information event about the course of the company, while he admitted that suppliers are under pressure from the significant increase in their costs and inevitably pass these on to the final product pricing.

The reduction of sales volume in supermarkets has even reached 8% from the beginning of the year until today, with the result that there is a marginal decline in the value of sales of 1% – 1.5% despite the price increases.

Growth from wholesale

The growth for the Metro group, which for this year is estimated at 6% in terms of turnover, will come mainly from the wholesale part, ie METRO Cash & Carry, as it grows at very high rates, both in volume and turnover. .

At the same time, the group aspires to maintain profitability (before taxes) at the level of 2021, ie at the level of 23-24 million euros.

The increase in energy costs up to 15 million euros

A key factor in halting profitability is energy costs. For this year, energy costs for the Metro group will increase by 7 million euros, while in the last two years, energy costs have increased by 15 million euros, despite the fact that electricity consumption remains stable.

In fact, the financial results for 2021 have been affected by the significant increase in energy costs that began in July, and despite the company’s investments in this area, it has affected the final configuration of pre-tax profits and EBITDA by more than from 8 million euros.

€ 62 million investment in energy savings

In order to address energy costs, the Metro group has made specific investments, which were implemented before the pandemic.

In the last five years, the Metro group has invested 62 million euros in electromechanical equipment, ie refrigerators, lighting and air conditioning.

A reduction of 48% has been achieved, after the completion of the interventions in each store.

By 2023, the company aims to cover more than 30% of its energy requirements from privately owned, Renewable Energy Sources through a significant photovoltaic investment, amounting to 18 million euros.

Upon completion of the investment, it will have installed 97 stations on the roofs of shops and warehouses. The aim within the next five years is to make the group energy neutral, either by buying energy from RES, or by eliminating fuels and buying energy from third party producers.

METRO is a 100% Greek company that has been active in Greece since 1976, has more than 10,600 employees, which makes it one of the largest employers in Greece.