Retailer Casino, which is facing investor concerns about its high debt levels, said it was making progress with its assets disposal plan, with the sale of a 15% stake in its Mercialys property unit.
Casino also said it had received indicative offers for other assets representing around half of its €1.5 billion disposal plan.
Casino said it had reached agreement for the definitive sale of 15% of Mercialys through an equity swap with a bank for €213 million.
First Half Performance
Casino, which reported improvements in profits in its core French market in the first-half, also kept all its financial goals and its deleveraging goals in France.
Overall, the group posted a 4.1% increase in first-half sales, with France seeing organic growth of 1.3% and same-store growth of 1.5%.
'The increase [in France] reflected good performances by Monoprix, Casino Supermarkets and Franprix, and strong growth at Géant Hypermarkets,' Casino said in a statement. 'Same-store sales by the Convenience franchise network attested to the format’s solid momentum over the semester. Leader Price continued to improve its level of same-store growth.'
The group added that first-half operating profits reached €439 million, down 2.4% from €450 million a year-ago as negative currencies in Brazil weighed on earnings.
Profit Revival
The group, whose credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor's in March 2016, is under pressure to show it can revive profits in France, where it competes with bigger rivals such as Carrefour, while conditions in Brazil stay tough.
Excluding currency impacts, group operating profit rose 10.3% on an organic basis in the first half. In France, its operating profit from retail operations grew 17.3% on an organic basis.
For 2018, Casino has forecast organic growth of above 10% in consolidated profit, excluding tax credits, and for organic growth in French operating profit, excluding real estate activities, also above 10 percent. It recently announced a new purchasing agreement with Auchan, Metro and Schiever Group.
News by Reuters, edited by ESM. Additional reporting by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
