The group’s sales also accelerated in the second quarter, increasing by 8.1% same-store, thanks to a strong performance in Latin America and the return of tourists to its urban stores in France, which sent its shares up more than 3% in the first exchanges.
Casino said it expected the resumption of sales growth momentum in France to continue in the coming months, not least because data for the past four weeks to July 24 showed tourists returning to mass in the Paris region and in its Monoprix and Franprix stores after the COVID-19 crisis.
Casino, which owns a stake in Brazilian food retailer GPA, reiterated its aim to maintain a high level of profitability and improve cash flow generation this year, despite rising inflation.
To drive sales growth, Casino is banking on accelerated expansion of city center convenience stores, including Monoprix, Franprix and Naturalia, and a focus on e-commerce, including home delivery through partnerships with Ocado, Amazon and Gorillas.
Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), however, fell by 7.8% at constant exchange rates to 1.069 billion euros in the first half, as the CDiscount e-commerce unit faced a difficult market for non-food.
YELLOW GREEN
The retailer, which sold assets to reduce debt, said Casino, Tikehau Capital and Bpifrance have signed a put option agreement with Ardian, through its infrastructure business, to sell their majority stake in GreenYellow for a of 1.4 billion euros ($1.43 billion).
The proceeds from the disposal, net of a reinvestment of 165 million euros, would amount to 600 million euros for Casino, bringing its disposals to date to 4.0 billion euros.
Casino has confirmed its objective of realizing the last 500 million euros of its disposal plan of 4.5 billion euros by the end of 2023.
In its main French market, all the group’s banners returned to sales growth in the second quarter, under the effect of expansion and the gradual return of tourists, with a strong acceleration since mid-June in the stores of the Paris region.
Monoprix high-end stores recorded comparable store sales growth of 2.2% in the second quarter, after a 3.0% drop in the first quarter. Monoprix sales rose 4.8% in the four weeks to July 24, according to Casino.
($1 = 0.9803 euros)