Berlin - German-based cash-and-carry group Metro declared a loss for the first half of the year as a result of restructuring costs in its home market.

Metro chief executive officer Eckhard Cordes said the group faced "an increasingly difficult economic environment" but nevertheless described the period as "successful" for the company.

The loss before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at 130 million euros (203 million dollars) for the first half, down from a profit of 437 million euros in the same period last year.

Excluding special items, Metro booked a profit of 482 million euros. The special items included expenses of 237 million euros resulting from the streamlining of its Real store base in Germany.

"Real finally is getting back on the right track," Cordes said.

Group sales rose 7 per cent to 31.7 billion euros, driven by strong growth outside the German home market, where sales rose a meagre 1.6 per cent to 12.5 billion euros.

International sales rose 11 per cent to 19.2 billion, with particularly strong growth in Eastern Europe (20 per cent), and Asia/Africa (16 per cent).

Western European sales, excluding Germany, grew 4 per cent to 9.8 billion euros.

The group confirmed its forecast for the full year, predicting sales growth of more than 6 per cent over 2008, with EBIT rising around 7 per cent.

Metro has seen a sharp decline in its share price over the year to date although Wednesday saw a rise ahead of the announcement of the first-half figures. (dpa)