Growth strategy „sCore“ presented, elections to the supervisory board

● Dr Steffen Greubel, CEO of METRO AG, presents the growth strategy of the wholesale specialist to the shareholders: “We have everything in place to put the company back on track for growth.”
● In line with METRO’s dividend policy, there is no dividend distribution
● Shareholders elect Dr Fredy Raas, Eva-Lotta Sjöstedt and Marek Spurný to the Supervisory Board as proposed

At his first Annual General Meeting, Dr Steffen Greubel, CEO of METRO AG, presented the growth strategy of the wholesale specialist. The financial year 2020/21 demonstrated clearly that METRO can put itself back on a growth trajectory. “In the past financial year, the coronavirus pandemic was definitely a challenge for us, but even more so for our professional customers in the hospitality industry. With a strong performance in H2, we still reached all adjusted profit and sales targets. We have streamlined our product portfolio, positioned our digital and delivery channels and restructured our leadership team. Our goal is growth,” Greubel stated, to set the right mood for the shareholders at the virtual Annual General Meeting. With the “sCore” growth offensive, the group is focusing on its core business. “We see the potential for profitable growth”, said Greubel. “The wholesale market is highly fragmented and offers opportunities for further consolidation and market share gains. Social, technological and economic trends are working in our favour.” The
growth strategy, which is geared towards the sales target of more than €40 billion in 2030, is based on 3 pillars: focused wholesale business to meet the demands of professional customers, a multichannel mix consisting of wholesale stores, delivery (Food Service Distribution, FSD) as well as online business, and the expansion of new business areas around trader franchise and key accounts.

In financial year 2020/21 all adjusted sales and earnings targets were achieved thanks to a successful final spurt in the second half of the year. While group sales, at €24.8 billion, remained below the pre-pandemic level in financial year 2020/21 (FY 2018/19: €27.1 billion), sales in local currency were already achieved at the previous year’s level (0.0%). Adjusted EBITDA reached a total of €1,171 million and was thus €72 million (adjusted for currency effects) above the previous year (reporting view, including Aviludo and Davigel Spain). The profit or loss for the period in FY 2020/21 was €-45 million, marking an improvement of €95 million compared to the previous year (€-140 million). Profit or loss for the period from continuing operations attributable to the shareholders of METRO AG was €-56 million. On this basis, METRO achieved earnings per share of €-0.15 in FY 2020/21. Therefore, as per METRO AG’s dividend policy, no dividend distribution is foreseen. With 240 participants who had logged in, about 80.27% of the total voting capital was present. The Annual General Meeting approved the actions of the Supervisory Board and Management Board.

The agenda also included new and re-elections for the supervisory board of the international wholesaler. Marek Spurný was newly elected to the Supervisory Board of METRO AG. He succeeds Alexandra Soto, whose term expired at the end of the Annual General Meeting. Spurný is a member of the Board of Directors of EP Corporate Group a.s. and Group General Counsel in Prague, Czech Republic. Moreover, the current members of the Supervisory Board were confirmed in their respective tenures: Eva-Lotta Sjöstedt for 3 more years and Dr Fredy Raas for an additional year. Eva-Lotta Sjöstedt is an independent business consultant from Copenhagen. Dr Fredy Raas is the Managing Director of Beisheim Holding GmbH in Baar (Switzerland) and Beisheim Assets gGmbH in Düsseldorf (Germany). Both have been members of the Supervisory Board of METRO AG since 2017. Dr Fredy Raas was a member of the Supervisory Board from 2013 until the demerger of the old METRO Group in 2017.

On 11 May 2022, METRO will report its H1 earnings for the current financial year.