French supermarket group Casino posted a decline in first-half core earnings due to ongoing restructuring activities, including the sale of hypermarkets and supermarkets, store closures, and conversions to franchises.
Key Highlights:
- Earnings Decline: Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda) fell 24% to €255 million (RM1.27 billion) in the six months ending June.
- Sales Drop: Net sales decreased by 3.5% to €4.2 billion.
- Debt Reduction: Net debt reduced to €1 billion at the end of June from €1.6 billion at the end of March 2024 and €6.2 billion at the end of 2023.
- Free Cash Outflow: The company reported a free cash outflow before financial expenses of €413 million, compared to an outflow of €735 million a year ago.
Restructuring Efforts:
Casino, France's seventh-largest supermarket group by market share, has been attempting a turnaround after years of debt-fueled acquisitions and a declining market share. The company has been implementing significant changes to improve its economic performance:
- Store Network Streamlining: Closing unprofitable stores and converting integrated sites to franchises.
- Careful Selection of Franchise Partners: Ensuring that new franchise partners are carefully selected and opening new stores with high potential.
Leadership Changes:
In late March, Casino completed its financial restructuring, leading to the appointment of a new leadership team by a consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. This marked the end of Jean-Charles Naouri's 30-year ownership of the company.
Philippe Palazzi, the recently appointed CEO, expressed optimism about the company's future. "To improve our economic performance, we have begun streamlining our store network: closing unprofitable stores, converting integrated sites to franchises, carefully selecting our new franchise partners and opening new stores with high potential," Palazzi said in a statement.
Despite the challenging restructuring process, Casino's efforts to reduce debt and improve its store network are aimed at stabilizing the company's financial health and positioning it for future growth.
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