Musgrave Group, partner to entrepreneurial retailers across Ireland, the UK and Spain today announced its financial results for the year ended 31 December 2012.
The Group reported sales of €4.9 billion, up 11% on the previous year, delivering a profit before tax of €72 million, an increase of 3%. Total retail sales, which is the combined turnover of Musgrave’s retail brands, was €7 billion, up 9% on 2011. Net debt was reduced by 24% to €143 million with net assets increasing to €462 million.
Commenting on the results, Chris Martin, Musgrave Group chief executive, said: “2012 was another year of challenging economic circumstances with continued austerity budgets, which has further cemented the changed mindset of consumers, who remain focused on spending less. Against this backdrop, we delivered a good financial performance.”
“This was achieved through our ‘Winning in the New World’ strategy, which saw us further sharpen our offer to consumers, leverage our scale and improve operations across the Group. This is enabling us to focus on our brands and maintain our status as the leading partner to entrepreneurial retailers. In 2012 we reduced our costs through simplification and re-organisation. As a result we have been able to deliver further value to the consumer and support our retail partners.”
“In 2013 as we enter the second year of our strategy, we are seeing our sales improve in Ireland as the economy begins to stabilise whereas we are tackling the challenges presented in the UK and Spain where those economies are weakening. Our focus in all three markets will be on strengthening our retail brands and exploring opportunities to take our brands further and to build on our growth agenda. In doing so, we will continue to deliver sustainable profits for our retail partners and our own business, whilst offering outstanding value for consumers.”