Axfood, with the retail chains Willys, Hemköp and Citygross, is the first among food companies to report on the first quarter.
Profit and profitability are increasing slightly compared to the same period last year. What stands out is that sales volume in the industry is clearly increasing.
"We simply have more customers," says Simone Margulies.
"The entire industry has a positive volume trend."
Don't want to comment
But she doesn't want to talk about how sales are going after VAT was halved on April 1.
You must see some indications, right?
"I cannot comment on the current quarter, but this is the first quarter I can comment on."
But do you expect higher volume growth after the VAT reduction?
"We have a very hard time predicting what this will do. Consumers are cautious and have been scarred by many years of inflation and rising costs."
Can affect
There has been a promise from the industry that the VAT reduction will apply fully to customers. Are you still keeping that promise?
"Absolutely. As far as I know, the entire market has handled this very well," she says.
But the VAT reduction will be eaten up by rising costs for the entire food industry, according to Axfood's CEO.
"What we are seeing now is higher fuel and energy costs."
"So there are risks that it will have an impact," she continues.
It will probably appear at different speeds on different products.
"Some products, such as fruit and vegetables, have shorter lead times, while other products have longer lead times," says Margulies.
Axfood's results for the period January-March (compared to the first quarter of 2025 in brackets):
Operating profit, SEK 806 million (SEK 719 million)
Retail revenue, SEK 19.6 billion (SEK 18.8 billion).
Profitability calculated as operating margin, 3.7 percent (3.4 percent).
Source: Axfood
