German retailer Metro AG has reported a drop in sales in its fiscal first quarter, saying turnover in the key Christmas period had been soft and its headline numbers had been hit by negative currency effects.

Europe’s fourth-biggest retailer, which runs cash and carries, supermarkets, department stores and the region’s top consumer electronics chain, said sales had fallen 3.3 per cent to €18.7 billion ($25.6 billion) in the three months through December.

Stripping out the impact of weaker currencies in eastern Europe and Asia, as well as the closure of supermarkets in eastern Europe and electronics stores in China, sales rose 1.1 per cent. The main contributor to the like-for-like increase came from an improvement at the cash and carry business, which accounts for almost half group turnover. – (Reuters)