The most important business parameters of the Biedronka chain are disclosed quarterly in the financial statements of the listed company Jerónimo Martins. And what does this look like in detail?
Biedronka with revenues of almost PLN 100 billion
Biedronka chain management Jeronimo Martins Polska approached PLN 100 billion in revenues in 2023. Year-on-year they increased by 17.9% – from PLN 83.15 to PLN 98.02 billion.
Revenues from sales, which constitute the vast majority, increased from PLN 82.95 to PLN 97.78 billion, and those from services (including the sale of various types of top-ups) – from PLN 162.19 to PLN 198.54 million, and those classified into product categories – from PLN 39.19 to PLN 46.88 million.
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This is partly due to the development of the Biedronka chain of stores. At the end of last year, 3,569 outlets operated under this brand, 174 more than in the previous year. This number included 303 smaller-format stores (98 were opened last year) and 375 outlets were modernized. Jeronimo Martins Polska’s investments in fixed assets amounted to PLN 2.53 billion. This year the company intends to spend much less in this area – PLN 1.22 billion, while opening more than 230 stores.
Comparable (comparable) sales in Biedronka Network increased last year by 14.2 percent However, revenues calculated in euros reached PLN 21.5 billion, after a year-on-year increase of 22.3%.
This is, of course, largely the result of high consumer inflation last year. The Jerónimo Martins Polska report highlights that “Biedronka once again maintained an intense promotional dynamic, assuming part of the price increases demanded by its suppliers and keeping food inflation in its basket below the national average”. It was found that the chain recorded an increase in sales also in terms of volume and increased its share in the entire food retail market, which recorded a decrease in constant prices of 3.1%.
At Biedronka, more than 80 thousand employees
Jerónimo Martins Polska’s operating expenses increased last year significantly lower than revenues – by 15.8 percent. up to PLN 90.57 billion, of which the value of goods and materials sold increased from PLN 62.62 to PLN 74.24 billion.
The company’s second largest cost category is employee expenses. Last year, expenses for wages increased from PLN 4.17 to PLN 4.77 billion, and for social security and other employee benefits – from PLN 1.01 to PLN 1.18 billion.
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This is due to the increase in salaries and the number of employees in the company. Last year, full-time employment increased annually from 77,727 to 79,292, or 2%. In the case of factory positions (mainly in the company’s distribution centers), there was an increase from 4,633 to 4,703 positions, and the other positions (mainly in stores and also at headquarters) – from 73,093 to 74,589. employees in the company on a part-time basis, so the total number of employees last year already exceeded 80 thousand, the same as at the end of 2022 (at the end of 2021 there were 77 thousand)
The total income of the seven members of the company’s management board increased from PLN 29.61 to PLN 38.8 million, and the remuneration of the members of the supervisory board, as in the previous year, amounted to PLN 30,000 zloty.
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More self-service checkouts and photovoltaic panels
Employment grows more slowly than the number of stores, among other things, because the owner of Biedronka invests in technology. At the end of last year, self-service cash machines were already operational in 3,021 branches, with 313 having been installed during the year.
In turn, costs for external services (including marketing activities) increased last year from PLN 4.5 to 5.34 billion, depreciation – from PLN 1.21 to 1.31 billion, and taxes and fees (excluding corporate income tax) – from PLN 1.68 to 1.94 billion.
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However, expenses for materials and energy consumption decreased – from PLN 1.5 to PLN 1.34 billion. At the end of last year, photovoltaic panels were installed on the roofs of 1,030 Biedronka stores, of which more than 70 percent already produce energy.
However, other operating costs increased from PLN 2.12 to PLN 2.64 billion. This category includes, among others: inventory shortages, costs related to inventory liquidation, write-offs of non-financial assets, donations made, compensation paid, penalties and fines, and provisions made for possible legal actions.
Biedronka grants loans to Hebe drugstores
Jerónimo Martins Polska’s financial income last year amounted to PLN 281.98 million, compared to PLN 230.16 million a year earlier. The largest part is interest receivedof which those of other subsidiaries of the company Jerónimo Martins decreased from PLN 159.07 to PLN 110.39 million.
Owner of Biedronka for several years it has been granting loans to the company Jerónimo Martins Drogerie i Farmacja, which manages the Hebe chain. In August 2021, it granted him a loan of up to PLN 300 million, then the agreement was annexed for the following years, increasing the limit to PLN 500 million (in September last year an annex was concluded valid until the end of May 2025). At the end of last year the loan amount was PLN 339.03 million and the total accrued interest was PLN 6.53 million.
The financial costs of Jeronimo Martins Polska decreased from PLN 85.34 to PLN 43 million, and the amount of income tax paid increased from PLN 832.7 to PLN 993.39 million. The company has been among the largest payers of corporate income tax in our country for years; in 2022, only five entities paid more to the tax office, including one not controlled by the State Treasury (Santander Bank Polska).
Profit increased, PLN 3 billion for dividends
The owner of Biedronka last year increased EBITDA profit by 16.5% to PLN 6.19 billion, and the EBITDA margin, as in the previous year, amounted to 6.3%. (“reflecting the decision to invest in prices in an environment of continued and significant cost increases, particularly for electricity and fuel”, the report states).
However, at the operational level, the company’s profit increased from PLN 4.07 to PLN 4.88 billion. in net terms – from PLN 3.38 to the all-time high of PLN 4.13 billion (i.e. 22%). In recent years, its profitability has been increasing along with revenue growth. In 2021, the company generated PLN 68.25 billion in revenue and PLN 2.98 billion in net profit, a year earlier, with PLN 61.22 million in revenue, it earned PLN 2.44 billion, in 2019 it recorded PLN 55.57 million in revenue and PLN 2.04 billion in net profit, and in 2018 – PLN 51.04 billion in revenue and PLN 1.99 billion in net profit.
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From last year’s net profit, Jerónimo Martins, as the company’s sole shareholder, allocated PLN 3 billion for dividends, which will be paid by the end of this year. PLN 963.9 million was added to the supplementary capitalPLN 86.5 million for capital reserve to be transferred in the form of a donation to the Biedronka Foundation, and PLN 77.4 million to cover corrections of previous years resulting from the introduction of new accounting principles.
This is not a record dividend – last year Jeronimo Martins Polska paid the owner PLN 3.31 billion. In 2022, the company’s dividends amounted to PLN 2.81 billion, in 2021 – PLN 2.39 billion, in 2020 – PLN 2.19 billion, a year earlier – PLN 1.96 billion, and in 2018 – PLN 1.72 billion
At the end of last year the company’s equity (after the reduction of planned dividends) amounted to PLN 2.3 billion, compared to PLN 1.26 billion a year earlier.
In the chart below, the current financial year is 2023 and the previous one is 2022
Already 3.6 thousand Biedronka Stores
In the first half of this year, sales dynamics in Biedronka stores were much lower than last year, due to the decrease in inflation and the intensification of price competition with Lidl.
Biedronka’s sales revenues on a comparable basis in the second quarter of this year, calculated in Polish zloty, were 4.6% higher than in the previous year (this was also due to the earlier date of Easter than last year), while the half-year EBITDA profit decreased by 6% compared to the previous year, and the EBITDA margin – from 8.5 to 7.6%.
At the end of June this year, 3,620 Biedronka stores were operating. In the last six months, 60 branches were opened and nine were closed, in addition to 104 stores being renovated.
