Metro upbeat despite sales fall

Metro cut 15,000 jobs earlier this year.

German retailer Metro has reported a 3.7% fall in nine-month sales, but says cost-cutting plans are making progress.

Sales in the nine months to September were 46.1bn euros ($67bn; £41bn), down from 47.8bn euros a year earlier.

However, the company has also reported a net profit for the first nine months of the year of 82m euros, following a 206m euro loss a year earlier.

Metro added that its aim to save 1.5bn euros by 2012 had "shown initial signs of progress".

Shares in Metro gained 2.2% when the markets opened on Tuesday.

Third-quarter figures, however, were less encouraging. The retailer made a net profit of 97m euros in the July-to-September period, down from 214m euros in the same period of 2008.

International expansion

Metro has opened 44 new stores during the first nine months of 2009, despite cutting 15,000 jobs in January.

The company is now planning to increase its international presence by more than 30 stores during the last quarter.

Last week, Metro announced it could open between 15 and 20 of its wholesale Cash & Carry stores in Egypt and Kazakhstan in the coming years.

Data released last week showed that German retail sales fell unexpectedly in September, as the economic downturn continued to affect consumer spending.

The figures are being taken as a a sign that household demand remains weak on continuing fears that unemployment will continue to rise throughout 2009.