The results, released this morning, reveal revenue of €5.71bn (£4.9bn), up from €5.68bn in the same quarter of last year, along with GP of €1.28bn, up from €1.11bn.

Revenue growth was led by the group’s Rest of the World segment, which saw revenue increase 10%, although the UK also saw revenue increase 3% on Q1 2018.

In North America, revenue increased 2% but in Germany, revenue was down 10% on the same quarter of last year.

Elaborating on the group’s performance, CEO Jacques van den Broek pointed to a “strong” start to the year: “Our organic revenue growth stabilised at a positive level, with marketshare gains in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, while growth in France returned to market level. 

“Our strong regional diversification continued to pay off, as Japan, Australia, India and the Latin America region delivered significant contributions to our growth and profitability.”

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