3rd Sep 2015 06:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Convenience store operator McColl's Retail Group PLC on Thursday said its total sales increased in the third quarter but said like-for-like sales were down across its operations.
McColl's said its total sales were up by 3.0% in the 13 weeks to the end of August and have increased by 3.3% in the year to date. But like-for-like sales in the third quarter declined by 2.3% and its year-to-date like-for-like sales have declined by 2.0%.
The year-to-date decline has been driven by a 0.4% fall in premium convenience and food and wine sales and by a 4.6% fall in sales for its standard convenience and newsagents business.
McColl's said its expansion strategy is on track for the year, with 46 stores acquired to the end of August. It has also agreed an extension to its existing GBP85.0 million revolving credit facility to August 2020 with better margins.
"We have made further solid progress in the third quarter in what continues to be a challenging time for the sector. Whilst like-for-like sales were down overall, our premium and food and wine convenience stores continued to outperform our newsagents and standard convenience stores," said James Lancaster, the company's chief executive.
"We remain on track to achieve results in line with the board's expectations for the full year," he added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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