PARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Casino is trading sharply lower in early trading on the Paris Stock Exchange on Monday after lowering its 2021 Ebitda forecast for its brands in France on Friday.
At 9:16 am, the action of the distribution group fell 7.30% to 21.07 euros, the largest drop in the SBF 120 index, which advanced by 0.85%.
In its wake, competitor Carrefour drops 2.66%, the bottom of the CAC 40 index (0.87%).
Casino, which previously expected an increase in its Ebitda in France this year, now estimates that it will be down 1.7%, to around 1.28 billion euros against 1.304 billion in 2020.
“The fourth quarter of 2021 was marked in France by a temporarily shrinking market, in stronger than expected proportions, with a change in the food distribution market of -3.7% at the national level and -5.6% in Ile-de-France,” Casino said in a short statement.
The retailer will publish its fourth quarter sales and annual results on February 25.
In a note released on Monday, Jefferies analysts point out that the new forecast implies the possibility of a 10% drop in Ebitda in France in the second half after a 9% rise in the first half.
“Our focus will be on how earnings pressure translates to cash flow and leverage,” they say.
(Report Blandine Hénault, edited by Marc Angrand)