The value of shares of Belgian supermarket chain Colruyt have dropped more than 15% at opening on the Brussels Stock Exchange on Thursday. At 09:30, the share price dropped 17.79% to €23.71. In September last year, the value of shares in the company were over €45.
In a statement on 28 September, the company warned that the company was expecting a sharp decline in profits this season.
The group chairman, Jef Colruyt, noted that inflationary pressures, falling numbers in its stores, and his company’s low-price policy (which effectively prevented the supermarket from passing on its costs to the customer), had eaten into the bottom line of the company.
The company expects that these factors will reduce the company’s profitability by more than €200 million this year. It also warned that its consolidated result, excluding non-recurring items, will decrease “significantly” compared to last year.
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Analysts speak of a “perfect storm” of bad news on global stock markets.
The British central bank’s intervention to salvage the pound, a far-right government in Italy, the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline, and other world events have heaped additional pressure onto markets already suffering under the burden of inflation and looming recession.
