German retail giant Metro has said its earnings per share rose 7.7% to €2.53 (US$3.34) for fiscal 2004, while sales rose 5.3% to €56.4bn.


Earnings before interest, tax and amortisation (EBITA) increased 13.8% to €1.81bn. Adjusted for currency effects, sales growth amounted to 5.5%. Sales increased by 1.7% to €28.8bn in Germany, where the company continued to expand its market position despite difficult market conditions.


“2004 was a successful year for the Metro Group. Defying the weak sectoral environment, we managed once again to substantially improve both our sales and earnings,” said Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber, chief executive officer. “We were generally successful even in Germany. In regional comparison, we generated the strongest growth in our eastern European business. But we also achieved substantial improvements on the Asian markets.”