The retail group Pepco Group NV was able to increase its turnover in the first half of the 2024/25, but was confronted with further difficulties in the Poundland retail chain.
In the six months to March 31, the discounter generated sales of 3.3 billion euros, as can be seen from preliminary figures published on Thursday. This corresponds to growth of 4.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
The result adjusted for special effects before interest, taxes and depreciation (EBITDA) was 460 million euros and thus 5.5 percent behind the first half of 2023/24. The bottom line was that the company had to accept a net loss of 155 million euros. The net profit decreased by 44.3 percent to 73 million euros for special effects.
With the three retail chains Pepco, Dealz and Poundland that belong to the Pepco Group, it was again the latter that continued to cause problems. While PEPCO with proceeds of 2.2 billion euros were able to achieve an increase in sales of 9.3 percent and Dealz with an increase of 13.8 percent with 182 million euros, sales at Poundland decreased by 6.5 percent to EUR 985 million.
Group CEO: Poundland sales until the end of the financial year
“At Poundland, the trading business remains challenging, which is reflected in a result under the expectations for the first half of the year and a weaker outlook for the overall year,” said Stephan Borchert, CEO of the Pepco Group. “Barry Williams, who was once again appointed Managing Director of Poundland in March 2025, and his team actively drive a renovation plan to get the business back on course through the return to its traditional core strengths.”
It was only at the beginning of March that the group had announced that it wanted to rely on a slimmer portfolio in the future and therefore a separation from Poundland. These projects are also to be continued according to the figures now published, whereby a sale is expected before the end of the financial year, explained Borchert.
The different development of the retail chains also reflects the corporate outlook for the 2025 financial year. The expectations for PEPCO announced in March with sales and adjusted EBITDA growth in the high single-digit range and with the EBITDA from Dealz in the amount of around 30 million euros remain unchanged.
For Poundland, the expectations of the previous forecast – an EBITDA from 50 to 70 million euros – were reduced to around 0 to 20 million euros. This is also due to the difficult trading conditions, which were additionally tightened by the sales of old stocks and problems with product availability.