The Dia supermarket group increased its net sales by 12.6% in the first nine months of the year, to 5,506 million euros, although the rise was lower in the Spanish market, 4.1%, to 3,269 million. Even so, the positive evolution of sales confirms that the strategic plan implemented by the company in recent years to change direction of its business is beginning to bear fruit.
Gross sales under banner also increased by growing 2.4% until September, up to 6,535 euros. An increase that in the Spanish market was greater, of 4.8%. The results contrast with the decrease in the group's store network, of 3.3% in Spain compared to the same period of the previous year.
On the other hand, comparable or like-to-like sales (which correspond to those of establishments opened in the last year) grew by 9.9% in the third quarter, reaching net sales of 5,500 million euros in the first nine months of 2022.
The market has reacted positively to the advanced data today by Dia, whose shares have soared more than 7%, although they continue to trade at a level 22% lower than a year ago, with the share price standing at 0 .0131 euros and the capitalization value of the group at 743 million euros. The CEO of Dia, Martin Tolcachir, has highlighted that the evolution of net sales obtained in the third quarter of the year "has confirmed the turning point" that the company advanced in August, "verifying the fruits of the redirection of the business which began in 2019 and opening a new phase of acceleration towards growth”.
Although the group's global net sales grew, in Portugal they experienced a decrease of 1.1%, coinciding with a 6.2% reduction in its store network. In contrast, net sales in Argentina grew by 59.6% (between January and September the effect of higher sales due to inflation is 20.7%), while in Brazil they increased by 11.7% despite the strong reduction -8%- of its store network.
The chain has been undergoing a transformation process for three years, a period during which 1,452 stores have been remodeled in Spain and 44 new establishments have been opened, of which 78% are local, most managed by franchisees. At the end of the third quarter of the year, the group had a total of 5,720 stores distributed throughout the four countries in which it operates, although discounting the establishments that the group undertook to sell to Alcampo last August, the number of establishments increased it would reduce to 5,485, 4.2% less than a year ago.
