The retail group Pepco Group NV closed the 2021/22 financial year with strong growth in sales and profits. This is the result of preliminary figures published by the parent company of the discounters Pepco, Dealz and Poundland on Tuesday.
In the fiscal year that ended in September, consolidated sales amounted to EUR 4.82 billion, which means an increase of 17.0 percent compared to the previous year. Adjusted for exchange rate changes, revenues increased by 17.4 percent.
The group of companies owes its strong growth not least to its expansion strategy. In the past financial year, the branch network was expanded by a total of 516 locations. The retail chain Pepco alone opened 446 new stores, 163 of which were in the “strategically important” Western European markets of Italy, Spain, Austria and Germany. On a like-for-like basis and adjusted for currency effects, Group sales grew by 5.2 percent.
The Pepco Group also made significant progress in terms of earnings: Adjusted for special effects, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) were 731 million euros and thus 13.0 percent above the previous year’s level. Reported net profit grew by 32.5 percent to 173.6 million euros.
After a “strong start” to the new financial year, the retailer reiterated its forecasts for 2022/23. He continues to expect currency-neutral EBITDA growth of a mid-teens percentage and revenue growth in the “mid-to-high” teens. Further new openings and growth in the existing branches should contribute to this.
The company announced that it would continue its expansion course with an “increased focus” on Western Europe and the ongoing conversion program for locations in Eastern and Central Europe. For this purpose, annual investments in the range of 350 to 400 million euros are planned for the coming years, the group explained.