metro ag-vorz (MEO3) Snapshot

METRO AG (DB:MEO) is reportedly seeking to acquire certain ProMarkt Stores. Two sources familiar with the matter said that METRO AG (DB:MEO) could be interested in buying up individual ProMarkt stores in order to expand its Media-Saturn chain. METRO said that it is not interested in a complete takeover of ProMarkt Online GmbH.

METRO AG reported earnings results for the first quarter of 2013. For the quarter, the company reported sales of €15.5 billion against €15.6 billion a year ago. EBIT was €1 million against LBIT of €8 million a year ago. Loss before tax was €125 million against €130 million a year ago. Net loss for the period attributable to the shareholders of the company was €16 million or €0.05 per share against €80 million or €0.24 per share a year ago. This improvement is primarily due to the accounted-for tax income of €109 million, which increased year-on-year due to the application of the integral approach. The operating cash flow generated in the first quarter 2013 was up on the year-earlier quarter: during the period from January to March 2013, the company reported an outflow from operating activities of €2.8 billion against €2.9 billion a year ago. This reflects the seasonal increase in net working capital. However, this increase was less than in first quarter of 2012, the net working capital improved by €226 million. The net debt improved significantly by €0.9 billion from €7.4 billion to €6.5 billion as compared to March 31, 2012. The company provides earnings guidance for the financial year 2013. For the year, it expects that in spite of the continuing difficult business conditions to generate moderate growth in sales (adjusted for the previously described portfolio changes). It expects EBIT before special items to increase compared to the level achieved in the corresponding period of the previous year (€706 million). This projection is based on the assumption of higher income from the sale of real estate assets compared to the year-earlier period. Due also to the lack of major sports events, operating earnings are expected to fall short of the level of the first nine months of 2012.

METRO AG, Q1 2013 Earnings Call, May 02, 2013