The consolidated revenues of companies controlled by MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB for the first half of 2023 increased by 18% and reached 2.8 billion EUR. Nearly half of the revenue growth was contributed by the increase in turnover of the retail chain “Stokrotka,” driven by several years of expansion in Poland. In the Baltic countries' stores, both customer traffic and the average shopping basket increased. Consolidated like-for-like (LFL) retail revenue grew by 15.7% at constant exchange rates.
“Maxima Grupė” reached EBITDA (earnings before financial result, income tax, depreciation and amortisation) of EUR 233.9 million. Reduced energy costs, improved efficiency of logistics and standardization of operational processes in stores enabled to decrease Group’s costs share from revenue by 1.9 p.p. Therefore, EBITDA margin rebounded from 2022 and reached 8.2%, which is slightly above the 2021 level (EBITDA margin of 8.0% in the first half of 2021 and 6.5% in the first half of 2022).
During the first half of 2023, “Maxima Grupė” continued its efforts to strengthen the assortment of private label products and simplify its operational processes. In April, a new private label brand named “Well Done” was introduced, which will add about 700 different high-quality products to “Maxima” shelves at attractive prices for customers. Starting from May 2023, a one-window principle was implemented for contacting Baltic suppliers, allowing for faster communication and more efficient assortment planning and purchasing processes. By standardizing store formats, 54 stores were renovated during the first six months of 2023, and a total of 332 renovated format stores are now operational in the Baltic countries.
One of the main directions of the Group’s activities remained network expansion. At the end of the first half of 2023, the “Maxima Grupė” retail chain had 112 additional stores compared to the end of the first half of 2022. In the first half of 2023, 33 new stores were opened in Poland, 5 in Bulgaria, another 2 new “Maxima” stores were opened in Estonia.
The Group's investments in expansion and store refurbishment amounted to EUR 56 million and were around EUR 6 million higher than in the first half of 2022. Most of the investments were allocated to the expansion of the Polish store network. In Lithuania, the construction of the “Maxima” logistics centre started in April, with an investment of EUR 70 million, to be completed by the end of 2024.
In order to continue its expansion and to prepare for the redemption of the long-term bond issue in September 2023, “MAXIMA GRUPĖ, UAB” signed two financing agreements for a total amount of EUR 100 million in May with “AB SEB bankas” and “Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB” and “Swedbank”. The Group's total indebtedness decreased in the first half of 2023and the leverage ratio improved from 3.1 at the end of June 2022 to 2.4 at the end of June 2023. The Group's financial stability is confirmed by Standard & Poor's BB+ credit rating with a stable outlook, reaffirmed in June.
