SPAR Austria Group has reported total sales revenue of €21.4bn ($23.3bn) in 2024, marking 4.5% year-on-year growth.
The company’s pre-tax earnings (EBT) hit €255m in fiscal 2024 (FY24), which translates to an EBT margin of 1.7%.
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Food retail sales within Austria exceeded €10bn for the first time, climbing 5.1% compared to the previous year.
The gross sales turnover of SPAR Austria was €10.38bn in FY24 – a 5.1% growth from the prevoius year.
Throughout Austria, SPAR managed a network of 1,497 stores by the end of 2024, employing 52,000 people.
Independent retailers under the SPAR brand experienced a sales uptick of 5.5%, maintaining a stable store count with 664 locations, only one less than the year before.
When accounting for all markets including Northern Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia, gross sales escalated to €18.46bn, reflecting a 4.4% increase.
The total count of SPAR, Eurospar and Interspar outlets saw a modest expansion from 3,036 to 3,049 stores.
During the fiscal year ,SPAR Austria invested €780m into warehouse expansion initiatives, store modernisation and digital transformation processes.
This included outfitting 300 stores with electronic shelf labels and planning for an additional 250 in 2025.
In the forecourt retail segment, SPAR Austria had 91 SPAR Express stores by year-end and forged a new strategic partnership with SOCAR petrol stations, inaugurating two locations in Schwechat and Knittelfeld.
Ahead of new regulations mandating deposits on single-use beverage containers from 1 January 2025, SPAR Austria invested €40m in return machine installations and software updates.
By the end of February, consumers had returned one million containers to SPAR and Interspar locations.
Looking ahead to 2025, SPAR Austria has earmarked €900m for further investments in infrastructure and technology enhancements to maintain its competitive edge and continue delivering exceptional customer service.
SPAR Austria executive board chairman Hans K Reisch stated: “2024 was our 70th anniversary year. We strengthened our market leadership in Austria, saw positive development in all countries, and are among the top three in each market.
“We achieved this despite challenges including high inflation and food deflation. Lower energy prices and interest rates allowed us to negotiate price reductions, which we passed on to customers. This helped reduce food inflation to 2.1%, below overall inflation. We are confident about the future.”
In October 2024, SPAR Austria Group’s IT division SPAR-ICS inaugurated a new 1,200m² IT hub at its campus in Vienna, as it prioritises the digital transformation of its business and service operations.
