By Business & Finance 
The IKEA Group net income amounted to €3.3bn for the financial year 2014. Market conditions continued to improve with strong performance in China and North America, and an upward trend in Europe, that’s according to figures released by the Group today.
There were also 716 million visits to the IKEA Group stores and more than 1.5 billion visits to IKEA.com.
“FY14 was a good year for IKEA. I am happy to see increased growth in all our sales channels; in existing stores, in the opening of new stores and in e-commerce. We reached some important milestones towards becoming energy independent and saw a 58% increase in the sales value of products that enable people to live a more sustainable life at home. Sustainability is an integral part of our business strategy”, said president and CEO, Peter Agnefjäll.
Total sales increased by 5.9% (adjusted for currency impact) from last year to €28.7bn. Together with the rental income from the shopping centre business, total revenue amounted to €29.3bn (+2.8%). The IKEA Group gained market share in almost all markets and entered a new country – Croatia. The largest markets in terms of sales were Germany, US, France, Russia and the UK.
“We have an ambitious growth agenda and at the same time we’re determined to have a positive impact on people and the planet. Our size gives us a unique opportunity to make a difference and contribute to positive change in society, for instance by making energy-efficient lighting both affordable and attractive for millions of people,” continued Agnefjäll.
Within its own operations, the IKEA Group produced renewable energy equivalent to 42% of the total energy consumed and aims by the end of 2015 to have invested and committed to invest €1.5bn in renewable energy projects, mainly offsite wind farms and photovoltaic (PV) panels.
In FY14, €200m were set aside to a new loyalty programme Tack! and the amount for the One IKEA Bonus Program was increased by €98m.
“A key factor to our strong performance is that we have a long-term view, and don’t aim to maximise short-term profits. We strive to continuously create better products at lower prices to our customers and to make substantial investments in our future,” says Peter Agnefjäll.
