Paterna (Valencia) (EFE) -. Mercadona has earned 718 million euros in 2022, which is 5% more than in the previous year (680.3 million), as its president, Juan Roig, announced this Tuesday in the presentation of the company’s results in the co-innovation center in Paterna.
Roig has detailed that sales have increased by 11%, up to 31,041 million, compared to 27,810 in 2021, which he has related to the increase in prices due to inflation, in a context that he has described as “unimaginable and unforeseen”. , alluding to the covid situation, energy prices, the war in Ukraine, drought in Spain and Portugal, bird flu and inflation.
In this sense, he explained that “the prices of products in Mercadona have risen by 10% on average compared to the 12% increase in cost at source, thanks to cost control measures and improved productivity; two points of difference that have had a negative impact on the company’s margin, which has been 0.6 points lower than in 2021, less than 140 million”.
“We have left our skin on those two points,” he stated, with a reduction in profitability of the lowest in its historical series, with a profit of 0.025 euros per euro sold.
The president of Mercadona has defended that they have acted as a “containment dam” and have even “stressed” the relationship with suppliers to achieve this, and has stressed on several occasions his pride in the company and its 99,000 workers, its 3,000 suppliers and its “refund” to society of part of its profits.
In this context of tension with suppliers, he pointed out that even for them there have been some cases of shortages, as in the case of milk, in which in the end they have had to raise prices to be able to offer the products on the shelves .
Concern about the impact of inflation on people with less income
He has expressed his concern about inflation and its impact on people with less income – “customers tell you so, and they are right, we have raised prices a lot” -, but the chain must be made sustainable, and if we did not raise them disaster could strike. We shopkeepers don’t like to raise prices; If you go too far, the client goes to the competition”.
Regarding the results of 2022, Roig has specified that of the 718 million profit, 557 have been allocated to reinvestment (80%) and the remaining 161, to dividends, and has pointed out that he receives 88 million of them, in addition to his salary of 11 million euros as CEO, with 54% personal income tax.
In addition, they have invested 650 million in openings and reforms, 130 million in logistics and 143 in digital innovation, for a total of 923 million.
According to their data, there have been 63 openings, 49 closures and 41 reforms, up to 1,676 supermarkets, of which 1,287 are “stores 8”, reformed.
In about seven years, Roig pointed out, we have invested 10,000 million in reforms.
The company’s online business has been quantified at 540 million, with 2,000 staff, “customer satisfaction” and 2% of Mercadona’s total turnover.
It has two new hives in Alicante and Seville, in addition to those in Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid, and a small one that will open in Boadilla del Monte (Madrid).
The company’s market share stands at 27.2%, with an average of 2,200 tickets per store/day and 28 euros per purchase.
As for the activity in Portugal, they have invested 140 million in 2022 – “we are super happy”, said the president of Mercadona -, with 39 stores, 10 openings and 1 logistics block (and another under construction, 100 km from Lisbon and scheduled to open in 2024).
“We have lost 50 million in Portugal”, according to Roig, who has predicted that in 2024 they may be “close to equilibrium; It costs a lot to open in a country other than yours”.
In relation to the tax contribution, there has been a “historic” figure, in his opinion, with 2,263 million euros, 12% more than the previous year.
Roig: We have raised prices a lot, not doing so would have been a disaster
The president of Mercadona, Juan Roig, has assured this Tuesday that the company has raised “a stupid price” but if it had not done so, it would have been “a disaster”, and has argued that the assembly line must be made sustainable.
Roig has affirmed that the shopkeepers do not like to raise prices but lower them and has agreed with a client who told him that the motto of “always low prices” has become “high prices”.
“He is right, we have raised prices a lot, but the chain must be made sustainable,” he declared, adding that if prices rise by 10% to a person who earns a low income, “it affects him a lot.”
Roig has defended the price increases in some products such as milk because, otherwise, “you will run out of product”, when talking about the great tensions that they have had this last year with suppliers.