Colruyt Group has revised its forecasts for the 2024/25 fiscal year, warning of a "slight decline" in operating profit and a "net decrease" in net profit, based on its preliminary unaudited figures.
This caused a significant drop in the company's share price at the Brussels stock exchange on Friday.
Colruyt attributes this to heightened competition in the Belgian retail market and lower-than-expected food inflation, resulting in projected consolidated sales growth of around 1%, which is below initial expectations.
In December, when releasing its consolidated half-year figures for 2024/25, Colruyt Group had aimed to match the operating profit of €470 million and net profit of €368 million achieved in the 2023/24 fiscal year.
Due to lower-than-expected sales, the combined market share of Colruyt, Okay, Spar, and Comarché has decreased over the full fiscal year, though the decline in the second half was smaller than in the first. Since the start of 2025, Colruyt Group's combined market share has begun to rise again.
At the opening of the Brussels stock exchange, Colruyt shares fell sharply, losing over 17% within the first half-hour of trading.
Colruyt Group is scheduled to release its full results on 17 June.
