Good results in H1 2017
Profitability objectives revised up
- Group trading profit :
- €466m vs €281m in H1 2016
- €336m vs €211m in H1 2016 excluding tax credit in Brazil
-
- In France, trading profit of €121m vs €85m in H1 2016, of which €83m for food retail activities compared with €36m in H1 2016
- Cash flow from continuing operations of €582m vs €390m in H1 2016
- CAPEX from continuing operations of €452m vs €506 m in H1 2016
- FY objectives revised up: growth in consolidated trading profit of at least 20%, at 30 June 2017 exchange rates
Key figures
| In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | Change |
| Consolidated net sales | 16,950 | 18,598 | +9.7% |
| EBITDA | 600 | 814 | +35.7% |
| EBITDA margin | 3.5% | 4.4% | +84bp |
| Trading profit | 281 | 466 | +65.6% |
| Trading margin | 1.7% | 2.5% | +85bps |
| Net income from continuing operations, Group share | (188) | (78) | +58.7% |
| Underlying net profit, Group share | 56 | 48 | -14.1% |
| Consolidated net financial debt | (6,343) | (5,594) | -11.8% |
| Net financial debt in France (Casino) | (4,027) | (4,314) | +7.1 |
Following the end-2016 decision to sell Via Varejo (including Cnova Brazil) and in accordance with IFR "Non current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations", the income statement for the six months ended 30 June 2016 has been restated to present Via Varejo's net after-tax profit on a separate line ("Net profit from discontinued operations").
Consolidated net sales of €18.6bn supported by good growth in business in France and improved sales in Brazil
In H1 2017, consolidated net sales rose +3.1% on an organic basis to €18.6bn.
In France, growth stood at +0.1% on an organic basis and +0.9% on a same-store basis, with a good performance in food retail, up +1.9% in the first half. The qualitative and urban banners delivered very good performances. Monoprix, Casino Supermarkets and Franprix saw the pace of same store sales accelerate over the period. Same-store sales at franchises in the convenience segment rose sharply. The Leader Price and Géant banners continued to see a progressive improvement in their same store growth.
In E-commerce (Cdiscount), gross merchandise volume (GMV) advanced by +10.5% on a same-store basis(1) in H1 2017, supported by the marketplace's good performance (share of 33.4% of GMV in H1 2017).
Food retail sales in Latin America rose by +7.1% on an organic basis during the semester, led by the sound development of cash & carry, the success of hypermarket revitalisation programmes in Brazil and growth in overall sales at Éxito.
Consolidated trading profit up +65.6%, led by the upturn in profitability in France
Consolidated trading profit totalled €466m in H1 2017 versus €281m in H1 2016, reflecting the success of the various banners in France and the recovery in Brazil.
In France, trading profit amounted to €121m, up +42.9% compared with H1 2016 (€85m). Margin widened by +39bps. Property development trading profit declined over the period whereas retail trading profit (excluding property development) grew significantly to stand at €83m (versus €36m in H1 2016). This rapid growth reflected a strong operating performance at Monoprix and Franprix and improved results at Casino Supermarkets, Géant and Leader Price.
The E-commerce segment trading profit was negative at -€19m in H1 2017, reflecting the investments carried out under the strategic plan (larger assortment, improved multi-channel strategy and technological upgrade of website).
The trading profit of food retail operations in Latin America amounted to €364m, including the tax credits booked by GPA(2). Adjusted for these items, trading profit was up +71.7% at current exchange rate and +47.8% at constant exchange rate, thanks to the sharp improvement in margins at Multivarejo and Assaí in Brazil.
Net financial result and underlying net profit, Group share(3)
Net financial result for the period totalled -€227m, compared with -€123m in H1 2016, which had benefited from the favourable impact of the bond buybacks.
Net income from continuing operations, Group share was -€78m, an improvement on H1 2016 (-€188m).
Underlying net profit from continuing operations, Group share represented +€48m in H1 2017 versus +€56m in H1 2016.
Diluted underlying earnings per share rose to €0.05 in H1 2017 (from €0.03 in H1 2016).
Financial situation at 30 June 2017
Casino Group consolidated net financial debt at 30 June 2017 stood at €5,594m (vs €6,343m at 30 June 2016), a decrease of -11.8%.
Net financial debt of Casino in France(1) amounted to €4,314m at 30 June 2017 compared with €4,027m at 30 June 2016. This evolution was mainly related to one-off financial operations (tender offer on Cnova free-float and partial unwinding of a Total Return Swap).
At 30 June 2017, Casino in France(1) had €5.9bn in liquidity, with a gross cash position of €2.3bn and confirmed undrawn lines of credit of €3.6bn.
The cash-flow from continuing operations increased to €582m versus €390m in H12016.
CAPEX from continuing operations decreased to reach €452m versus €506m in H1 2016.
Casino has been rated BB+ (stable outlook) by Standard & Poor's since 21 March 2016 and BB+ (stable outlook) by Fitch Ratings since 24 April 2017.
H2 2017 perspectives - Profitability objectives revised up
In light of its H1 2017 good results, the Group revises its guidance for the growth in consolidated trading profit up to at least 20%, based on 30 June 2017 closing exchange rates.
In France, Casino Group now aims to achieve above 15% growth in food retail trading profit and forecasts a contribution from its property development activities of around €60m.
The presentation of the 2017 half-year results is available on the Casino Group corporate website (www.groupe-casino.fr).
The definitions of the non-GAAP indicators is also be available on the website.
***
Appendices
Consolidated net sales by segment
| Net sales In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | |
| France Retail | 9,264 | 9,261 | |
| E-commerce | 850 | 871 | |
| Latam Retail | 6,836 | 8,466 | |
| Group total | 16,950 | 18,598 |
Consolidated EBITDA by segment
| EBITDA In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | Change | ||
| Current exch. rate | Constant exch. rate | Current exch. rate | Constant exch. rate | ||
| France Retail | 267 | 292 | 291 | +9.5% | +8.9% |
| E-commerce | 1 | (7) | (7) | n.s | n.s |
| Latam Retail | 332 | 529 | 451 | +59.3% | +35.8% |
| Group total | 600 | 814 | 735 | +35.7% | +22.5% |
Consolidated trading profit by segment
| ROC En M€ | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | Change | |||||||
| Current exch. rate | Constant exch. rate | Current exch. rate | Constant exch. rate | |||||||
| France Retail | 85 | 121 | 120 | +42.9% | +41.6% | |||||
| E-commerce | (9) | (19) | (19) | n.s | n.s | |||||
| Latam Retail | 206 | 364 | 310 | +76.4% | +50.1% | |||||
| Group total | 281 | 466 | 411 | +65.6% | +46.0% | |||||
2017 half-year results
| In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 |
| Net sales | 16,950 | 18,598 |
| EBITDA | 600 | 814 |
| Trading profit | 281 | 466 |
| Other operating income and expenses | (418) | (274) |
| Operating profit (loss) | (137) | 192 |
| Net finance costs | (133) | (192) |
| Other financial income and expenses | 11 | (35) |
| Income tax | 33 | 26 |
| Share of profit of equity-accounted investees | 14 | 5 |
| Net loss from continuing operations, Group share | (188) | (78) |
| Net profit (loss) from discontinued operations, Group share | 2,769 | (8) |
| Net profit (loss) from consolidated operations, Group share | 2,581 | (86) |
| Underlying net profit from continuing operations, Group share | 56 | 48 |
Underlying net profit
| In €m | H1 2016 | Restated items | H1 2016 underlying | H1 2017 | Restated items | H1 2017 underlying |
| Trading profit | 281 | 0 | 281 | 466 | 0 | 466 |
| Other operating income and expenses | (418) | 418 | 0 | (274) | 274 | 0 |
| Operating profit (loss) | (137) | 418 | 281 | 192 | 274 | 466 |
| Net finance costs | (133) | 0 | (133) | (192) | 0 | (192) |
| Other financial income and expenses | 11 | (46) | (36) | (35) | (18) | (53) |
| Income tax | 33 | (68) | (35) | 26 | (80) | (54) |
| Share of profit of equity accounted investees | 14 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Net profit (loss) from continuing operations | (212) | 304 | 91 | (5) | 176 | 171 |
| Attributable to minority interests(1) | (24) | 59 | 35 | 73 | 50 | 123 |
| Of which Group share | (188) | 244 | 56 | (78) | 126 | 48 |
Underlying net profit corresponds to net profit from continuing operations, adjusted for (i) the impact of other operating income and expenses, as defined in the Accounting Policies Section in the notes to the annual consolidated financial statements, (ii) the impact of non recurring financial items, as well as (iii) non-recurring tax credits and expenses.
Non-recurring financial items result from restatements correspond to change in fair value of equity derivatives (for example, Total Return Swap (TRS) and Forward on GPA share) and the monetary update effects of Brazilian tax liabilities.
Non-recurring income tax credits and expenses correspond to tax effects related directly to the above restatements and to direct non-recurring tax effects. Accordingly, the tax expense applied to underlying pre-tax profit corresponds to the standardised average tax rate for the Group.
Simplified H1 2017 balance sheet
| In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 |
| Non-current assets | 26,393 | 22,826 |
| Current assets | 13,128 | 14,913 |
| Total assets | 39,521 | 37,739 |
| Total equity | 14,668 | 13,446 |
| Non-current financial liabilities | 8,106 | 7,831 |
| Other non-current liabilities | 3,151 | 2,256 |
| Current liabilities | 13,597 | 14,206 |
| Total equity and liabilities | 39,521 | 37,739 |
Breakdown of net debt by entity
| In €m | H1 2016 | H1 2017 |
| France Retail | (4,027) | (4,314) |
| Latam Retail | (2,263) | (1,706) |
| Latam Electronics | 87 | 641 |
| E-commerce | (140) | (214) |
| Total | (6,343) | (5,594) |
Exchange rates
| Average exchange rates | Closing exchange rates (30 June) | Exchange rates as at FY results' release | ||||||||||||||
| | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | Change % | H1 2016 | H1 2017 | Change % | 07/03/2017 | |||||||||
| Colombia (COP/EUR) (x1000) | 3.4817 | 3.1659 | + 10.0 % | 3.2477 | 3.4772 | - 6.6 % | 3.1415 | |||||||||
| Brazil (BRL/EUR) | 4.1296 | 3.4431 | + 19.9 % | 3.5898 | 3.7600 | - 4.5 % | 3.3098 | |||||||||
ANALYST AND INVESTOR CONTACTS
Régine Gaggioli - Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 64 17
rgaggioli@groupe-casino.fr
or
+33 (0)1 53 65 24 17
IR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr
PRESS CONTACTS
Casino Group
Tel: +33 (0)1 53 65 24 78
Directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.fr
Stéphanie Abadie, Press Relations Manager
Tel: + 33 (0)6 26 27 37 05 - sabadie@groupe-casino.fr
AGENCE IMAGE SEPT
Simon Zaks - Tel: +33 (0)6 60 87 50 29 - szaks@image7.fr
Karine Allouis - Tel: + 33 (0)6 11 59 23 26 - kallouis@image7.fr
Disclaimer
This press release was prepared solely for information purposes, and should not be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell securities or related financial instruments. Likewise, it does not provide and should not be treated as providing investment advice. It has no connection with the specific investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any receiver. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein. It should not be regarded by recipients as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgement. All the opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.
