UK retailer EG Group Q3 core earnings fall 10.2%

LONDON (Reuters) – EG Group, the acquisitive British petrol station and food retail business owned by brothers Zuber and Mohsin Issa and private equity group TDR Capital, on Tuesday reported a 10.2% fall in third quarter core earnings despite an increase in revenue.

The group said it made earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $428 million in the three months to Sept. 30, down from $476 million in the same period last year.

Turnover was $7.18 billion, up from $5.96 billion.

EG said EBITDA for the third quarter was still the second highest quarterly EBITDA recorded by the group after last year’s which benefited from the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

“The start of the Q4 period has been characterised by ongoing macro-uncertainty, with some of our international markets facing renewed lockdown restrictions,” the brothers said in a statement.

However, they added that the group was “well-placed” to make further progress in the final quarter.

The brothers and TDR also own British supermarket group Asda, which on Monday reported a 0.7% fall in third quarter like-for-like sales.

EG Group trades from more than 6,200 sites across the United Kingdom and Ireland, continental Europe, the United States and Australia, employing 50,000.

It ended the quarter with net debt of $8.95 billion.

($1 = 0.7496 pounds)

This story refiles to fix typo in paragraph 8.

(Reporting by James Davey; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)