Carrefour said it is looking to 2022 with confidence after Europe's largest food retailer delivered record free cash flow of €1.23 billion and a 7.7% rise in operating profit for 2021.
Chairman and chief executive Alexandre Bompard said cash generation would remain above €1 billion in 2022 and good commercial momentum would continue despite inflationary pressure.
He also said he would unveil his new strategic plan for the group in autumn.
Strong results and cash generation allowed Carrefour to hand investors an 8% dividend hike to €0.52 per share and launch a new share buyback plan of €750 million for 2022.
"It is an exciting time for us with a new plan in the fall. We have great confidence for this year," Bompard told analysts.
Cash is also key to the French food retailer's plans to step up digital commerce expansion without the extra financial resources that would have been on hand if two planned tie-ups last year had not failed – one with Canada's Couche-Tard and one with France's Auchan.
Annual Performance
Carrefour reported a 7.7% rise in 2021 recurring operating profit to €2.27 billion at constant exchange rates, driven notably by its core French market.
The performance reflected cost cuts and 2021 sales which grew 2.3% on a like-for-like basis to €81.25 billion, with market share gains in key countries such as France, Brazil and Spain.
In France, where Bompard has made reviving flagging sales at hypermarket stores a priority, operating profit rose 20% to €757 million on sales that rose 1.8%.
Carrefour said it expected its French operations to further improve their operating margin to 3% of sales in the mid-term, from 2.1% in 2021.
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Cost Savings
With inflation accelerating, Carrefour said it would intensify cost savings.
It raised its cost-cutting goal to €2.7 billion on an annual basis in 2021-23 from an initial target of €2.4 billion, having achieved €930 million in cost savings in 2021.
Carrefour is in the last leg of a five-year plan launched in January 2018 to cut costs and boost e-commerce investment to improve profits and sales, as it seeks to tackle online rivals such as Amazon.com Inc and discounters like Lidl and unlisted retailer Leclerc.
Bompard, whom Carrefour reappointed in May 2021 to lead for another three years, is working on a new strategic plan and conducting an asset review as part of the process.
In November, Carrefour pledged to spend €3 billion between 2022 and 2026 to step up digital expansion, one of the pillars of the future strategy plan.
Carrefour shares have gained 7% so far this year but still trade 20% below their level when Bompard took over in July 2017.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
