Fiscal years end December 31. Source: Company reports

FY15 RESULTS

Groupe Casino, an international retailing group based in France, reported a FY15 revenue decline of 4.8% at actual exchange rates (an increase of 1.6% at constant exchange rates), to €46.1 billion, slightly above the consensus estimate. Underlying net profit declined by 25.9%, to €412.0 million, beating consensus of €314.1 million. Diluted underlying EPS was €2.80, a decrease of 35.5% versus FY14 and below consensus of €2.81. The company reported a decrease of 26.6% in EBITDA, to €2.3 billion, below the consensus estimate of €2.4 billion. EBIT was down 35.2%, to €1.4 billion, below the consensus estimate of €1.5 billion. Management commented that the results were primarily affected by the economic slowdown in Brazil and the impact of foreign exchange rates.

PERFORMANCE BY SEGMENT

In France, net sales in FY15 were virtually flat, growing by 0.22%, to €18.9 billion. French food retail activities recorded organic growth of 1.1% during the period thanks to the recovery of Géant Casino and Leader Price, while EBITDA and EBIT were impacted in the first half of the year by price cuts at the two retail banners. In Latin America, retail sales were down 4.6%, to €14.7 billion and electronics sales fell 28.4%, to €5.2 billion. Profitability in the region was impacted by cost inflation and weak growth in net sales. Net sales in Asia were up 13.1%, to €4.0 billion, while EBIT increased by 8.6%, to €277 million. On February 7, 2016, Groupe Casino announced the sale of its 58.6% stake in Thailand’s Big C Supercenter for €3.1 billion. E-commerce sales were down 2.4%, to €3.4 billion in FY15. Within the segment, the company recorded negative EBIT, with a loss of €142 million. Negative results in Brazil impacted e-commerce performance, despite the good operating performance of French online retailer Cdiscount, which the company said increased its market share by 3.8% year over year.

GUIDANCE

In FY16, Groupe Casino aims to undertake significant deleveraging, helped by disposals of about €4.0 billion, including the planned disposals of Big C Thailand and Big C Vietnam. The company also plans to improve profitability in France and in its e-commerce segment, and to consolidate its position in Latin America by reorganizing its structure in the region. The company expects to achieve EBITDA of around €900 million and EBIT exceeding €500 million for France in FY16. Analysts estimate that Groupe Casino will generate €43.2 billion in net sales, €1.5 billion in EBIT and €362.9 million in net income before exceptionals in FY16.