Sligro Food Group trading update first quarter 2024

Sligro Food Group N.V. achieved sales of €652 million for the first quarter of 2024, an increase of €18 million or 2.7% compared to sales of €634 million in the first quarter of 2023.

Revenue growth in the first quarter was slightly positive as expected and was entirely organic.

In the Netherlands, sales increased by 3.8%, in line with the movement we also see in the market. The acquisition of new customers and expansion of packages at existing customers is going well. However, consumers are still reluctant to spend, so our professional customers are buying less volume individually at the moment.

In Belgium, sales declined by 3.2%. As expected, the attrition effect of customers we lost last year in delivery in Antwerp will also have an impact on the revenue development in the first quarters of 2024. The acquisition of new customers is progressing well and we are already seeing the return of some of the customers lost last year. Sales at Sligro-M's cash-and-carry outlets rose to €37 million, compared with €31 million in the same period last year.

The impact of inflation on our revenue levelled off in the first quarter and is around 3%.

As more and more retailers stop selling tobacco early, we are seeing a volume shift to the sales locations of some of our customers. Our tobacco share increased to 9.2% of sales in the first quarter as a result. We ourselves stop selling tobacco from 1 July 2024, except for some contracts with a term until the end of 2024. From 2025, we will no longer sell tobacco.

Our focus in the coming period will remain undiminished on realising the building blocks under the plan towards 2025, which we presented during our capital markets day last year.

Regarding the results for the half-year, we do not make any concrete forecasts. The half-year results will be published on 18 July.