Strong revenues from Jeronimo Martins' Polish discount retail chain Biedronka helped boost group sales in the first nine months of the year.
The Portuguese retailer recorded an 8.7% increase in sales to EUR7.95bn (US$10.3bn) in the period to the end of September. Like-for-like sales increased 3.8%.
Revenues were boosted by growth in Poland that Jeronimo Martins said was "well ahead of the market". The retailer opened 66 Biedronka stores in the period. THe chain's sales increased by 17.6% in local currency.
Consolidated net profit increased 6.2%, reaching EUR271.5m, while EBITDA was up 5.2% to EUR554.5m.
The group said it delivered a "solid" performance in the quarter in "tougher conditions".
"Biedronka's strong performance enables us to confirm the positive outlook for the group in terms of double-digit sales growth (at constant exchange rate) and good earnings growth in 2012, reassuring my confidence that we have the right business model to achieve the growth potential we have identified in Poland," CEO Pedro Soares dos Santos said.
