CEO Koen Slippens: 'After experiencing considerable pressure on operations and a globally disrupted supply chain in 2022, 2023 was all about restoring stability. Our basic service provision needed to become better and also more efficient, partly in view of the continuing steep inflation in costs. All things considered, we succeeded, with substantially improved and above all consistent average service levels and on-time delivery.
Our customers needed and continue to need good and reliable service more than ever and we see further opportunities for improvement in this area in 2024. After all, despite the on average great performance in 2023, individual customers experience suboptimal service from time to time, which may be a reason for switching suppliers. Our competitors also struggled with the same issues. We welcomed many new customers, but also saw some leave. On balance, the outcome was positive for us and we gained market share in both markets.
The market is in the grip of change and our customers are increasingly price-sensitive. This is no surprise, seeing as high inflation is confronting them with rising costs in virtually every aspect of their business model. Moreover,
many of our customers saw consumers increasingly pare back spending in the ‘out of home’ channel. As a result, we had to keep a tight rein on pricing policy and support our customers through services and product range choices so that they could continue offering acceptable menu prices despite the price inflation. We believe we amply succeeded but this issue is set to persist into the future and thus demands our continued attention.'
Revenue for Sligro Food Group N.V. for 2023 came in at €2,859 million, an increase of 15.2% compared to the €2,483 million in revenue in 2022. 8.8% of the increase was organic.
Read more in the press release below.
As a result of this agreement, the transport activities for the Sligro Delivery Service sites in Amsterdam, Berkel en Rodenrijs and Drachten will be transferred to Sligro Food Group Transport B.V. and those for the sites in Vianen, Vlissingen and Sluis will be transferred to Koninklijke Euser B.V.
This transaction affects around 260 employees, with around 75% of these transferring to Sligro Food Group Transport B.V. and the other 25% moving over to Koninklijke Euser B.V. The proposed decision has no consequences for the terms of employment, employment situation or location of the affected employees. The works councils have each issued a positive recommendation on this proposed transaction.
Peter Appel, CEO of Simon Loos Transport: “For us, this decision stems from a strategic reorientation of our business going forward. Through this transfer, we are acting for the long term on our ambition to grow and direct our efforts most effectively towards our other business activities. We are confident that our staff are in good hands with our acquisition partners.”
Bas Euser, CEO of Koninklijke Euser: “It’s a wonderful, formidable expansion for us to join forces as a partner in business with our client Sligro Food Group and to take on this challenge. We are stronger together.”
Koen Slippens, CEO of Sligro Food Group: “This is a great step forward in our ambition to carry out part of our transport activities on our own through Sligro Food Group Transport. In our daily ordering and delivery process, it is our drivers who serve as the valuable last point of contact with our customers. In acquiring these activities, we are laying an important foundation for Sligro Food Group Transport.”
Veghel, 1 December 2023
On behalf of Sligro Food Group N.V.
Koen Slippens, CEO
Rob van der Sluijs, CFO
Tel. +31 413 34 35 00
On Monday 23 October, we successfully opened our new delivery service location in Evergem (Belgium) according to plan. This move means that from now on delivery customers of our wholesale outlet in Antwerp will be supplied from Evergem.
This is an important step forward as Sligro transitions towards the new model for delivery in Belgium, which will see customers of Sligro, Sligro-M and JAVA Foodservice supplied from the nearest delivery service location.
As previously announced during the presentation of the half-year results and confirmed during our trading update of 19 October, we have adjusted the course of our approach to ERP implementation and the management of our Belgian activities. We have started rolling out the same ERP landscape as we are using for Sligro-M, and the opening of the new delivery service location in Evergem is the first step. In the coming months we will also switch the Sligro-ISPC wholesale outlets in Liège and Ghent over to this technology.
Veghel, 27 October 2023
Metro integration progressing well, operating EBIT improving.
Group revenue for the first half of 2023 totalled €1,403 million, an increase of 24.2% compared to the same period in 2022. In 2022, we posted a large one-off book profit on the sale of our stake in Smeding. Adjusted for book profits, EBITDA was up €5 million to €54 million. Net profit for the first half of 2023 totalled €1 million.
Koen Slippens, CEO
“It is rather tricky to interpret the revenue development in the first half of 2023 due to the major differences compared to the 2022 basis for comparison. A COVID-19 lockdown was still in place in the first weeks of 2022, and this was
followed by a spring with good weather. 2023, on the other hand, had a relatively cold and rainy spring. When May this year brought better weather, we saw a clear positive shift in the revenue and result development. Inflation had a major impact on revenue, gross profit and costs.
Our analysis of the market in the Netherlands and Belgium over the past few months shows that consumers are still going out and spending on hospitality. Spending remains strong and the market is growing. This is driven largely by
price, as market volumes are under pressure. At Sligro Food Group, we are seeing volumes increase as we grow our customer base and sell more to existing customers, partly through our partnership with Heineken, while volumes are growing in Belgium on the back of our acquisition of former Metro sites. We are continuing to gain market share in both countries."
Sligro Food Group N.V. generated €634 million in revenue over the first quarter of 2023, up €166 million or 35.5% on the revenue of €468 million posted in the first quarter of 2022.
Sligro-M consists of nine former Metro wholesaler outlets in Belgium and has been part of Sligro Food Group since January 2023.
Sligro-M is the wholesale partner for entrepreneurs, food professionals, who are registered under the 'food' category with the KBO.
Nijverheidsstraat 70
2160 Wommelgem, Belgium
+32 (0) 3 328 90 00
E-mail: info@sligro-m.be
Two elements have been completed in the process of Sligro Food Group acquiring part of the Metro outlets in Belgium.
Appeal against court decision rejected
In the court-supervised restructuring proceedings for Makro Cash & Carry Belgium NV, the court in Antwerp authorised the court-appointed judicial trustees on 7 December 2022 to sell the majority of the Metro activities in Belgium to Sligro Food Group. An appeal was filed against this decision by the Antwerp court, but on 30 March 2022 the Antwerp Court of Appeal rejected the arguments made in the appeal.
Final approval from the BCA
The Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) already invested a great deal of time and energy in investigating the market consequences during the course of the court-supervised restructuring. On the basis of its preliminary investigation, the BCA had previously issued an ‘unconditional decision to grant an exemption’, which meant that the transaction could already go ahead. Today, 3 April 2023, the Belgium Competition Authority (BCA) gave its final, unconditional approval of the transaction.
Veghel, 3 April 2023
On behalf of Sligro Food Group N.V.
Koen Slippens, CEO
Rob van der Sluijs, CFO
As stated in our press release on revenue dated 4 January 2023, Sligro Food Group N.V.’s annual revenue for 2022 amounted to €2,483 million, an increase of 30.8% compared to the €1,898 million in revenue that we achieved in 2021. Net profit for the financial year was €39 million, up €19 million (94%) compared to the previous year.
Sligro Food Group is taking over nine Metro wholesalers (Antwerp South, Wevelgem, Liège, Hasselt, Middelkerke, Namur, Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Brussels and Vorst) and around a hundred employees from the regional network and head office. In addition, staff from the Antwerp North outlet, which will not be taken over, will be offered a job at the nearby Sligro-ISPC outlet in Antwerp. The outlet in Evergem and the staff working there will be transferred to food service market wholesaler Van Zon. In this combination, 506 Metro employees are being offered job continuity and stability.
An amount of €47 million is being paid for the outlets Sligro Food Group is acquiring, which includes the Liège site property. On the day before the Metro activities are transferred to Sligro Food Group, the value of the remaining inventories and the available cash will be determined. The current inventories will be acquired at 75% of the net procurement value and the cash at the nominal value.
This transaction requires the approval of the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA). The BCA has already invested a great deal of time and energy in investigating the market consequences during the course of the court-supervised restructuring. On the basis of its investigation, the BCA has issued an ‘unconditional decision to grant an exemption’, which means that this transaction can go ahead immediately. The BCA will formally complete its investigation in the near future; at this time no significant obstacles are expected to emerge from this investigation.
Veghel, 7 December 2022
On behalf of Sligro Food Group N.V.
Koen Slippens, CEO
Rob van der Sluijs, CFO