DÜSSELDORF (dpa-AFX) - The electronics retailer Ceconomy expects further operating improvements in the new financial year despite the persistently difficult consumer environment. Group CEO Karsten Wildberger also sees the Group "on track" with its ongoing restructuring. In the past financial year, the company was able to increase sales and adjusted operating earnings with its Media Markt and Saturn consumer electronics stores. However, write-downs and losses on its stake in the French company Fnac Darty, the sale of parts of the company and restructuring costs pushed Ceconomy into the red.

"We have grown strongly in a challenging market environment and have significantly strengthened our market position," said Wildberger on Monday, commenting on developments in the past financial year. The transformation is progressing. Ceconomy is focusing on services and expanding its marketplace business. The store network is being modernized. The Media Markt and Saturn brands have been merged. The structure has also been simplified and streamlined, which should lead to significant savings. The majority of the expected restructuring costs were recognized in the past 2022/23 financial year.

Sales in the 2023/24 financial year (as at the end of September) are expected to increase slightly on a currency and portfolio-adjusted basis, as the company announced in Düsseldorf. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are expected to improve significantly. The operator of the Media Markt and Saturn consumer electronics stores is focusing on Germany, Austria and Switzerland as well as Western and Southern Europe. The promotions around Black Friday and the pre-Christmas period have been well received both in the stores and online, it added. The first quarter, with its Christmas business, is traditionally the most important for Ceconomy.

The Group's share price recently fell by 7.5 percent in the morning. The consumer environment remains very difficult and the outlook for the new financial year is correspondingly vague, according to one market participant. Profitability remains a problem. Baader Bank analyst Volker Bosse, on the other hand, described the outlook as solid, as expected. There were no concrete statements on the current first quarter. However, the outlook for the year shows that development in the important months of November and December has so far been okay to good.

In the past financial year, Ceconomy's sales adjusted for currency and portfolio effects increased by 4.7 percent to 22.2 billion euros. The online share of total sales fell by 2.5 percentage points to 22.2 percent, but is expected to rise to 30 percent by 2025/26. Brick-and-mortar retail proved robust in the past financial year and grew by 6.6% to 16.9 billion euros. Thanks to cost savings, adjusted earnings before interest and taxes rose from 208 million to 243 million euros.

However, Ceconomy was in the red due to a value adjustment on its stake in French competitor Fnac Darty. The bottom line was a loss of 39 million euros after a profit of 126 million in the previous year. The sale of the business in Sweden and Portugal and restructuring costs also had a negative impact. In the final quarter, however, the company generated a profit of 28 million euros, following a loss of 24 million euros in the previous year. Ceconomy had already presented preliminary operating figures at the end of October./nas/he/stw/mis