Germany: Metro Group has put the Brakes on international expansion and vowed to cut capital expenditure after posting a loss for the first quarter. The world’s fourth largest retailer and parent of cash & carry Makro sustained losses of €9m (£7.3m) in the three months to 31 March, compared with profits of €145m in 2011. Meanwhile, sales rose by 2.2% to €15.6bn (£12.7bn). Chairman Olaf Koch said Metro would cut €100m of costs from its Dusseldorf HQ, while cutting capital expenditure for the year by 10% to €1.8bn.

EU: The chair of the European Food Safety Authority Diána Bánáti has been forced to resign after rejoining the board of pro-GM advocacy group International Life Sciences Institute. Bánáti will become executive and scientific director at ILSI, where she sat on the board until 2010. EFSA had defended Bánáti that year, when it faced criticism for re-electing her despite her links to ILSI.

Denmark: Carlsberg reported a slump in first quarter profits this week after its Russian operations were hit by a tax hike in January. Operating profits shrank 43% to DKK574m (£62m) due largely to lower volumes in Russia, which accounts for about 30% of Carlsberg’s beer sales. “Our Q1 results were in line with our plans and we are on track to meet our 2012 expectations,” maintained Carlsberg CEO JØrgen Buhl Rasmussen.

Canada: Higher costs at supermarket subsidiary Loblaw caused George Weston to report a drop in first quarter profits. An IT upgrade and an increase in transport costs at Loblaw were blamed for a reduction in operating profits of 9.6% to CA$274m. Meanwhile, sales at George Weston, which also comprises the bakery supplier Weston Foods, crept up by 1.1% to CA$7.2bn.

New Zealand: New Fonterra CEO Theo Spierings has reshuffled his management team and created a number of new senior roles. More than six months after joining the dairy, Spierings has increased the size of the management team from seven to 12, largely by promoting internally. “The new structure and senior appointments reflect our focus on dairy nutrition and emerging markets,” said Spierings.

Finland: Raisio has posted an 11.1% increase in sales for the first quarter, boosted by the performance of brands like Benecol and Honey Monster. The company reported an 8% increase in EBIT to €6.6m. “The most significant profitability improvement was seen in our Western European food operations, or in the companies that have become part of Raisio through acquisition,” said Raisio chief executive Matti Rihko.