Convenience Shop doubles pre-tax profit in first half of 2022

In the first six months of this year, The Convenience Shop Group registered a turnover of €19.4m, a gross profit of €2.5m and a profit before tax of €906,000

The Convenience Shop Group has recorded a positive financial performance for the first six months of this year, between January 1 and June 30.

The Group registered a turnover of €19.4 million in the first half of 2022, which translates into a 20% growth over the same six-month period in 2021. It also recorded a gross profit of €2.5m and an operating profit of €1.2m, representing 6% of turnover and an improvement of 2.1 percentage points over the same period ended 30 June 2021. Profit before tax amounted to €906,000, nearly doubling its performance from last year.

“Our continuous investment in our people, our systems and our brand have contributed towards another strong performance through 2022 thus far,” said The Convenience Shop Group CEO Martin Agius. “These latest interim financial results further support our vision to be the retailer of choice in the local convenience sector, by ensuring that we provide a modern, reliable and customer-centric experience to our shoppers.

“And it is clearly paying dividends. We believe our success is testament to the fact that our customers have easy access to modern convenience through the franchise at more than 40 carefully selected localities across Malta. This is a convenient retail solution that clearly works, as evidenced from the 11% increase in transactions by June 2022 when compared to the same period last year. We are grateful to our clients for their custom and committed to continuously improving their shopping experience into the future,” he said.

The first six months of 2022 also brought other major achievements and milestones for the Group, most notably its partnership with Coop Italian Food – the international branch of Coop Italy – which operates the largest chain of supermarkets in Italy and exports Italian food worldwide. Through this partnership, customers in Malta can now exclusively access a wide range of Coop Italian Food products.

“Our collaboration with Coop Italian Food further enhances the Group’s mission to continue to meet the needs of our consumers by ensuring that we offer high-quality products at more affordable prices in convenient locations,” Agius said.

As Malta’s largest food retail chain, The Convenience Shop continues to enjoy impressive growth, recently opening its 80th outlet in Birzebbugia, and with plans to further expand its franchise network by the end of the year. For the first six months of 2022, total franchise turnover increased by 17% over the same six-month period in 2021.

“We continue to identify and invest in attractive opportunities for sustainable growth for the Group, in keeping with our mission and long-term vision,” the CEO said. “The Group’s Directors are also keeping a keen eye on world developments to ensure consistent product availability and to safeguard product affordability. Our continued success over the last six months and, indeed, since the launch of the first The Convenience Shop in Zebbug in 2009, is down to our ongoing commitment to meeting and exceeding shopper expectations.

“We look forward to maintaining our steady growth, with our customers at the core of all that we do.”