Raser mot Norgesgruppen-utbytte: – Stort og grådig

Kristjánsson vehemently criticizes Norgesgruppen and its owner family following the allocation of an extraordinary distribution of profit to the shareholders once again. The representative responds: Norgesgruppen informs about the distribution in their annual report. This distribution is lower and lower each year, allowing Norgesgruppen to claim they appear modest and undeserved, he claims.

However, later in the year, during the general meeting, an extraordinary distribution occurs, raising the total profit for the year above the previous year by an additional 400 million kroner, making it as large and grey as the year before, says Kristjánsson. "I am simply fed up with the big chains squeezing their profits down to such small margins," he says.

This reality is that the shareholders at the top earn billions from our food consumers every year, Kristjánsson says. NorgesGruppen has been accused of this before. On that occasion, the chain explained the extra distributions as covering the shareholders' capital gains, and they are taken into account when the previous year's tax is calculated.

E24 asked NorgesGruppen about the reason for this practice starting in 2021, when it was taxed for capital gains in Norway for the first time. The rate had been 0.85% since 2015, after being reduced from 1.1% in 2013. In 2021, the tax on shares was further reduced when the depreciation allowance was increased from 35 to 45%. Large shareholders only began to complain in 2022.

Stein Rømmerud, the company's director of communication and corporate affairs, states that the extra distribution covers the capital gains for the approximately 700 Norwegian shareholders and that the amount is set when the previous year's tax is determined. "It is completely wrong to say we are trying to hide the distributions.

Both ordinary and extra distributions are clear in the accounts, and the total distribution is reported in the annual reports every year. All account figures are easily accessible on our website," he writes. Kristjánsson believes the money comes from the chains' use of their market power to drive up food prices in stores. Rømmerud responds that he understands the large sums reported for the distributions but does not know how to interpret them as evidence of high profit margins in the food industry.

"The reality is that if we had run the company to a loss, an 100-kroner handle would have cost 98 kroner. Margins in this industry are low. However, the volume is high, so the totals are larger. The company's profit margin was 2.5% last year, and they invested 4.5 billion kroner in things like upgraded stores, logistics, technology, and more efficient operations," he says.

The Labour Party would like political action, including demands that the chains open their wholesale and distribution services to all producers. They also believe the authorities should consider breaking up Norgesgruppen. Rømmerud of Norgesgruppen says Kristjánsson should focus more on supporting the idea that private actors can make a profit, instead of "questioning the seriousness of serious business actors."

He emphasizes that this profitability allows NorgesGruppen to employ around 50,000 people across the country, contributing to economic growth in the entire food and agriculture industry, generating significant tax revenue for the Norwegian state, and operating stores throughout the country that are crucial for preserving local communities.