The Dia Group falls before the big changes. The supermarket’s shares have plummeted 4.64% at the close of the trading session this Thursday. These figures come after presenting the results for the first half of the year and announcing the sale of its business in Portugal to Auchan for 155 million euros. Specifically, the titles of the supermarket chain fell by almost 6% (5.96%) in the afternoon session to finally record a decrease of 4.64%, until closing at a price of 0.0144 euros.
The supermarket chain divests in Portugal after selling to Auchan a network of 489 owned and franchised stores active throughout the country under the banners Minipreço and MaisPerto, as well as three logistics platforms and the contracts, licences, rights and concessions necessary for the operation in the country.
“The decision to sell business in Portugal has not been, but it is the right one for us to focus our efforts on those markets in which we are most relevant and have the capacity to grow with the only brand, Dia”, assured the Global CEO of Dia Group, Martin Tolcachir.
The supermarket chain has explained that the money from this divestment will be used entirely for the cancellation and amortization of part of the group’s syndicated financing.
Lost due to results
On the other hand, Grupo Dia reduced its losses by 35.8% during the first half of this year, to 67 million euros, due to business results as well as the sale of stores to Alcampo in Spain.
The adjusted gross operating result (Ebitda) reached 65 million euros in the first half of the year, 27% more than a year ago, and increases the margin by 0.3 percentage points, up to 1.8%, which reflects “ongoing operational management improvement and cost control.”
Net sales grew by 4% compared to the first half of 2022, to 3,602 million euros, offsetting the negative currency effect in Argentina and the 5% reduction in the store network during part of the year. Likewise, the group increased comparable sales ‘like-for-like’ by 5.7% compared to the same period in 2022, highlighting the growth of the business in Spain.
Net sales in Spain increased by 6.9%, to 2,241 million euros, and comparable ‘like-for-like’ sales by 12.8%, which would reach 13.3% if the stores sold to Alcampo are excluded and the Clarel operation. Thus, adjusted Ebitda in the domestic market rises by 44.8%, up to 65 million euros.
On the other hand, it reduced its net financial debt by 22%, equivalent to 118 million euros, to 426 million, thanks to the positive generation of cash and working capital, as well as the sale of assets to Alcampo, which has partially offset the strong investment effort made between January and June of this year.
In this way, the company was “optimistic” for the second half of the year, focused on its commitment to proximity and simplicity to continue improving the operational and financial variables with the aim of the company recovering the path of growth in the short term.
