French retailer Carrefour has placed a sustainability-linked bond issue, indexed to the group's sustainability objectives, for a total amount of €500 million.
The bond is set to mature in October 2028, with a coupon of 4.1250% per annum.
According to the retailer, the issue, carried out within the framework of the group's Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) programme, was 'seven times oversubscribed', which 'demonstrates once again the great confidence of the financial community in the quality of the Carrefour signature'.
This enabled a rapid placement at favourable conditions, it noted.
The €500 million raised will be allocated to the financing of the group's general corporate purposes as well as to the refinancing of its debt.
The bond has a BBB rating from Standard & Poor's, Carrefour said.
First-Half Performance
During the summer, Carrefour reported a 1.6% increase in first-half recurring operating profit, to €814 million, at constant exchange rates.
It remains confident that cash generation will remain above €1 billion in 2022, having achieved €480 million in the first half.
In the retailer's core French market, sales rose 1.4% like-for-like in the second quarter, with its convenience arm benefitting from the resumption of tourism in big cities.
However, the group continues to monitor the current inflationary situation, with chairman and CEO Alexandre Bompard telling analysts in July, "There is no sign of inflation slowing down. We will have to deal with a high level of inflation in the second half and we will have to navigate it."
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
