CEO Espen Eldal comments: “Europris delivered another strong quarter and I would once again like to thank all
employees for their remarkable efforts during these extraordinary times. For the year to date, we have significantly
outperformed the market and cemented our position as Norway’s leading discount variety retailer. This is the
result of solid merchandising in all parts of our value chain.”
Europris has experienced strong sales growth driven by changed consumer behaviour as a result of strict national
infection control measures and solid merchandising.
Chain sales increased by 27.2 per cent (26.5 per cent like-for-like sales growth). This was once again significantly
higher than the market, which grew by 12.2 per cent according to Kvarud Analyse. Sales growth was driven by the many
people who worked from home and the restrictions on travelling abroad which lead to increasing domestic consumption.
While it is hard to measure, solid merchandising has probably been another key factor in the strong sales growth
during the quarter. Europris has shown flexibility in developing its concept in an extraordinary period, while the
organisation has adapted well in order to provide customers with a safe and good shopping experience.
Gross margin remained stable during the quarter, despite a shift towards groceries with generally lower margins.
Operating expenditure excluding non-recurring items was NOK 425 million in the third quarter (NOK 392 million), a
rise of 8.7 per cent. Europris also experienced improved scalability and efficiency as the Opex-to-sales ratio
decreased to 22.4 per cent (26.5 per cent).
Adjusted EBITDA in the third quarter of 2020 was NOK 402 million (NOK 262 million) – a rise of NOK 140 million
or 53 per cent.
Adjusted net profit was NOK 191 million (NOK 88 million) for the third quarter.
Europris opened one new store in the third quarter. It relocated one store during the quarter and another had its
sales area reduced. The board has approved an additional eight stores for 2020 and beyond, including two city
concept stores in Oslo and one in Bergen.
At 30 September, Europris was in a strong financial position with cash and available credits of NOK 1,430 million
(NOK 463 million). Before the close of the quarter, Europris also announced that Stina Charlene Byre had been
appointed as its CFO.
Webcast at 08.30 CET today, Friday 30 October. CEO Espen Eldal will host the presentation. Europris invites
investors, analysts and media to join the presentation via webcast. It will be possible to ask questions via the
web.
Material: The third quarter report and presentation will also be made available on www.europris.no/corporate (http://www.europris.no/corporate/investor) and
www.newsweb.no. In addition, a recorded version of the presentation will be made available on
ww.europris.no/corporate (http://www.europris.no/corporate/investor) approximately
two hours after the broadcast has concluded.
For questions or further information, please contact:
Espen Eldal, CEO, +47 48 29 24 24, espen.eldal@europris.no
Trine Engløkken, IR, +47 940 50 937, trine.englokken@europris.no
About Europris:
Europris is Norway's largest discount variety retailer by sales. The group offers its customers a broad range of
quality own brands and brand-name merchandise. Its merchandise is sold through the Europris chain, which consists of
a network of 265 stores throughout Norway. Of these, 236 are directly owned by the group and 29 operate as franchise
stores. The group's headquarters are at Fredrikstad, Norway.
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities
Trading Act.