Metro sees sales falling as lockdowns continue

Reuters

Published May 06, 2020 17:33

BERLIN (Reuters) - German wholesaler Metro (DE:B4B), which saw an initial boost to sales during the coronavirus crisis due to traders stocking up, said it expects sales to decline as long as lockdowns continue as its restaurant and hotel customers stay closed.

Metro reported sales for its fiscal second-quarter rose 1.8% to 6 billion euros (5.24 billion pounds), meeting average analyst forecasts, while its loss per share came in at 0.24 euros, above analyst forecasts for a loss of 0.11 euros.

Metro said in a statement on Wednesday that the development of sales and earnings had been clearly negative since mid-March and based on performance up until the end of April, it expects sales to fall 2% every month the lockdown continues.