What: El Corte Inglés is reducing its liabilities by selling off unprofitable assets
Why it is important: Thanks to a strong focus on retail and core activities, the overall turnover has grown +4% this year while 25 stores have been upgraded accross Spain.

El Corte Inglés has generated 660 million euros from asset sales over the past four years, with 313 million euros in the last year alone from divesting properties in Barcelona, Sevilla, and Córdoba. This has reduced the company's liabilities to 2 billion euros. The retail giant, with revenues of 12 billion euros in 2023—up 4% from 2022—is undergoing a renovation of its commercial properties, investing up to 428 million euros in updating 25 sales points across cities like Bilbao, A Coruña, Málaga, and Madrid, as well as some supermarkets. The company, aiming for a stock market launch by 2028, has also increased its investment in technology, products, and new services, with support from the European Investment Bank for its energy efficiency and innovation projects earlier in 2023.
Despite a 5.4% increase in business volume to 16.333 billion euros, net profit dropped to 480 million euros due to the absence of exceptional items that had previously boosted earnings. In contrast, the recurrent net profit soared by 73.7% to 359 million euros, the highest since 2009. EBITDA reached 1.081 billion euros, up 13.6% from the previous year. El Corte Inglés is 8% owned by Grupo Mutua, and chaired by Malta Álvarez with Gastón Bottazzini, former CEO of Falabella, as an advisor since February.

El Corte Ingles generated more than 660m€ in asset sales for the past four years