The general conditions for the retail industry have rarely been as challenging as they were last year. Nevertheless, REWE Group mastered the situation and once again achieved a good result, which the Management Board and Supervisory Board recently presented at the Annual General Meeting in Berlin.
CFO Telerik Schischmanow illustrated just how dynamically REWE Group has developed by comparing the key figures from 2012 with those from 2022
CFO Telerik Shishmanov took off with the delegates on a "helicopter flight over the Group". In the financial year 2022, Group sales increased by 11.3 per cent to 77.2 billion euros, driven by a resurgent tourism division and inflationary developments. Earnings at EBITA level also continued their upward trend at around 1.4 billion euros. Although cost increases in personnel and energy put pressure on the operating result, investments in the financial year were at a record level of 2.8 billion euros, not least thanks to the "solid equity ratio", which was increased again in 2022, according to Shishmanov.
CEO of the REWE Group Lionel Souque
Annual financial statement 2022 confirmed
Consequently, the Annual General Meeting of REWE-ZENTRALFINANZ eG approved the annual financial statements for 2022 and unanimously discharged the company's Management Board and Supervisory Board. At the same time, REWE Group also published its online annual report for 2022 on its website under the title "The answer is WE".
The war in Ukraine, inflation, enormous increases in energy prices and the subsiding coronavirus pandemic presented challenging conditions in 2022, as Lionel Souque, CEO of the REWE Group, explained. Some of these factors were still having an impact on shopping behaviour this year. "Customers have been hit pretty hard by the crisis, but they are slowly getting used to it," said the CEO, describing the "new normal".
Despite some uncertainty about future economic developments and consumer behaviour, business has been satisfactory for REWE Group in the current year, with revenue developing better in some areas than that of major competitors. The downer is that negotiations with suppliers regarding prices continue to be difficult from time to time. A few suppliers are now passing on falling prices for raw materials, energy, etc., but by no means all those who have cause to do so, Souque noted. "In order to fend off unjustified price demands, we have repeatedly shown our stance," said the CEO, reaffirming the company's strategy.
Praised the team spirit in the management team: Supervisory Board Chairman Erich Stockhausen
The Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Erich Stockhausen, agreed: Experience has shown time and again that a long-term, consistent strategy pays off. "We have set the course in good times and made clear decisions. The Group benefits from this in challenging times. Let's shape the future, together and on an equal footing with a good team spirit within the management team," Stockhausen appealed to the meeting. Kai Mattfeld from Peter Mattfeld & Sohn GmbH, the new Chairman of the Supervisory Board of FÜR SIE eG and designated member of the Supervisory Board of REWE Deutscher Supermarkt AG & Co KGaA in succession to Bernd Christiansen, was also welcomed at the meeting. Previously, Christiansen and Dr Christian Hornbach had been dismissed as shareholder representatives on the boards.
