Result improvement in 2024
The operating result (EBIT) increased by €28 million to €43 million and profit rose from €6 million to €24 million. We succeeded in achieving a pleasing improvement in our result in a challenging market characterised by volume pressures and high cost inflation.
CEO Koen Slippens: 'At the start of the year, it was quickly apparent to us that market conditions would remain challenging, meaning that a strong focus on efficiency and cost reduction would be needed. Long-term high inflation led to restraint in consumer spending, which in turn put pressure on our customers’ volumes and, by extension, our volumes. Cost inflation was sharp, but through enhanced efficiency and focus, we were able to absorb the substantial increase in our procurement costs.
Due to pressure on their revenue model, our customers understandably looked even more closely at our performance as a supplier. So a great deal of attention was focused this year on meeting the required standard in our basic operations and making improvements wherever possible. We executed this very successfully in the Netherlands, and we will continue to give full attention in the coming period to supporting our customers in the challenges they experience. The processes to integrate and optimise the logistics of our overall infrastructure in Belgium that we started in the autumn of 2023 continued into 2024, finally reaching completion at around the mid-year mark. Our operational performance suffered in this phase, costing us customers and revenue. Today, though, our operations, management, control and infrastructure in Belgium are now at the level we have successfully applied in the Netherlands for many years. Based on the feedback we received from customers after the summer, we can be confident about 2025.
Through our vigilant focus on cost control in particular, we achieved a solid improvement in our operating result. The free cash flow was once again positive and the group’s financial position developed positively once again. Based on that result and our dividend policy, we propose a dividend for 2024 of €0.40 per share. Having already paid an interim dividend of €0.30 per share in 2024, a final dividend of €0.10 per share remains.
For us, 2025 is all about healthy revenue growth, against the trend, because we want to outperform general market growth in both countries. Operations are firmly in place in both countries and we see plenty of opportunities but, at the end of the day, the financial result is what counts. This is appropriately reflected in our theme for this year: Results count!'
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Press conference / Analyst meeting
Comments on the annual figures at a press conference and an analyst meeting on 27 March 2025.
11:00 AM: Press conference
01:30 PM: Analyst meeting
Location: Sligro, Van der Madeweg 39, 1114 AM Amsterdam
Download the presentation:
In our trading update of 17 April 2025, we will go into developments in the first quarter of 2025 in greater detail, and we will publish our interim figures on 17 July 2025.
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2023 annual figures
In what was a turbulent year, we managed to increase our market share in both the Netherlands and Belgium. Operating performance improved, as a result of which EBITDA rose by €11 million to €137 million. Net profit for the financial year was negatively impacted by non-recurring expenses and amounted to €6 million for 2023.
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.'
Read more in the press release:
Press release, 2023 annual figures
Press conference / Analyst meeting
Comments on the annual figures at a press conference and an analyst meeting on 8 February.
11:00 AM: Press conference
01:30 PM: Analyst meeting
Sligro Amsterdam, Van der Madeweg 39
Presentation, 2023 annual figures
In our trading update of 18 April 2024, we will go into developments in the first quarter of 2024 in greater detail, and we will publish our interim figures on 18 July 2024.
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The General Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday 14 May 2025.
Shareholders of Sligro Food Group N.V. are invited to attend the annual General Meeting, to be held on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 10:30 AM at the company's office, Corridor 11 (5466 RB) Veghel.
Click here for more information.
Acquisition of part of Simon Loos’ transport activities completed
Sligro Food Group N.V. reports that the transaction for the sale of Simon Loos Transport B.V.’s current transport activities for Sligro Food Group to Sligro Food Group Transport B.V. and Koninklijke Euser B.V., as announced on 1 December 2023, was completed successfully today.
This means that the transport activities for the Sligro Delivery Service sites in Amsterdam, Berkel en Rodenrijs and Drachten have now been transferred to Sligro Food Group Transport B.V. The transport activities for the sites in Vianen, Vlissingen and Sluis have been transferred to Koninklijke Euser B.V.
Open here the press release in PDF.
Veghel, 2 January 2024
On behalf of Sligro Food Group N.V.
Koen Slippens, CEO
Rob van der Sluijs, CFO
Tel. +31 413 34 35 00
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Sligro Food Group acquires part of Simon Loos’ activities
Sligro Food Group N.V., Simon Loos Transport B.V. and Koninklijke Euser B.V. announce that they expect to reach agreement on the sale of Simon Loos Transport B.V.’s current transport activities for Sligro Food Group to Sligro Food Group Transport B.V. and Koninklijke Euser B.V
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.”
Open here the press release in PDF.
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
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Charissa Kleij: ckleij@sligro.nl
2024 half-year figures
Revenue in sales markets under pressure, plans on track
18 July 2024 - Group revenue for the first half of 2024 totalled €1,393 million, down 0.7% on the same
period in 2023. Despite that, our EBITDA was at the same level as last year at €55 million and our operating result grew by €2 million to €6 million. Net profit fell to a loss of €1 million due to rising interest expenses.
Koen Slippens, CEO: “As expected, market conditions are challenging both in the Netherlands and in Belgium. Consumer confidence remains low and the impact of the high level of inflation we have seen in recent years and the poor weather is holding back consumer spending. Even though shifting tobacco sales between different retail sales channels muddies the picture somewhat, the underlying trend is clearly visible.
Away from the developments in the market, we have made a few choices in our organisation that will not contribute to revenue growth in the short term. We have switched our whole Belgian infrastructure to our existing IT environment over the past nine months and are still physically refurbishing several of our sites. Given that both these interventions will help us better serve our customers, we are seeing scope for revenue recovery and growth in Belgium from the second half of the year onwards. In the short term, however, our customers will be inconvenienced.
In addition, we have decided in close consultation with a number of customers to discontinue services whenever there were no prospects for a profitable arrangement for both parties. Both elements are part of our plan to improve returns in the long term, but will result in a revenue drop in the short term.
Since we have only limited influence on market conditions and economic sentiment, our focus within the organisation is mainly on things we can influence directly. On the one hand, this translates to resolute implementation of our plan intended to improve returns, while on the other hand we are putting even greater effort into reducing costs to be able to absorb the impact of rising prices and dropping volumes. We are on track for most elements of our plan, with the exception of the revenue-related initiatives. With these efforts, we are laying the foundation for improvement of our returns, which we believe will pick up momentum as soon as the market starts to recover. Additional cost-saving measures have been identified and are being implemented. In addition, we will be putting a lot of our efforts into customer retention and acquisition in this competitive market, so as to give revenue development a boost.
We had anticipated the difficult market conditions and knew that we were about to put a plan in motion that was going to see us incur costs first and reap benefits later. Knowing that, the figures we are presenting today did not come as a surprise to us. Even so, market developments and inflation are having a greater impact than we had estimated. We are, therefore, still somewhat cautious in our outlook for the second half of the year. We do not expect the market to recover this calendar year and are heading for an operating result (EBIDTA) that is on a par with last year’s.”
Click here for the complete press release (pdf)
Click here for the complete press release (pdf)
In our trading update of 17 October 2024, we will go into revenue developments in the third quarter of 2024 in greater detail.
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