Axfood – which, among other things, operates the food chains Willys and Hemköp as well as the wholesaler Dagab – reports an operating profit of 1,007 million kronor for the third quarter of the year.
This can be compared to the result of 1,036 million a year earlier, when it also included a comparative item of minus 60 million.
We are consolidating our market positions, says CEO Simone Margulies.
Net sales increased to 20.9 billion, from 20.3 billion a year earlier. Both the result and sales were marginally below the average forecast among analysts, according to Bloomberg.
Recently, the group also received the green light from the Competition Authority to acquire the competitor City Gross.
This enables us to challenge within the hypermarket segment, she continues.
Food prices are still of utmost importance to customers. Margulies views positively the fact that inflation is trending downward:
This means that we do not have the price increases that we have had in recent years.
But what happens to food prices in the long run is harder to answer, according to Simone Margulies.
There are many factors that affect our food prices; it's geopolitics, a currency that affects, harvests, the climate. Going forward, it's difficult to predict what will happen.
