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Casino announced Thursday that it would abolish its dividend by 2020 and accelerate the reduction of its debt, the French distributor seeking to strengthen its financial position as part of a broader restructuring of the group controlled by its managing director, Jean-Charles Naouri.
In its report on the results of the second quarter, Casino said it did not pay dividend for the 2019 fiscal year, nor an interim dividend for 2020. Following the previous announcement in May to remove its interim dividend for 2019, Casino a These measures will save 500 million euros over the next 18 months.
Casino is part of a complex corporate structure built by its managing director and controlling shareholder, Mr. Naouri. It seeks to rebadure investors who fear that its liquidity is under pressure because it must pay a dividend upstream of the chain to serve the debts of its parent companies, while its main market in France is suffering from a price multiannual. the war that gnaws profitability.
In May, Casino's parent companies, including Rallye, sought court protection through a safeguard procedure, which allows them to freeze their debts for up to 18 months and restructure.
Casino announced Thursday that it would accelerate its debt reduction plan to reach less than 1.5 billion euros of net debt in France by the end of 2020, and keep it below that level. Casino's net debt in France amounted to 2.7 billion euros at the end of 2018 and was targeted at 2 billion euros at the end of the year.
In the context of overall deleveraging, Casino has set a target of selling 2.5 billion euros of non-strategic badet disposals by 2020, including real estate. , and has already announced that it has already sold 2.1 billion euros of disposals.
Overall, Casino generated revenue of € 8.9 billion in the second quarter, up 2.3% excluding calendar and petrol effects. Latin America leading the way, with growth of 3.8%, and its Cdiscount e-commerce platform propelled sales in France. Sales performance was in line with badysts' expectations.
Operating profit rose 12.9% in the first half to reach 347 million euros, against 362 million euros according to badysts' estimates.
Casino is working on several strategic priorities to improve profitability in France. It continues to withdraw from hypermarkets and invest in local and e-commerce formats to cope with changing consumer habits. It is geographically focused on the richest regions of France, namely Greater Paris, Greater Lyon and the Côte d'Azur. And he is directing his selection to higher margin products and categories, such as organic products and snacks.
Thursday, Casino confirmed its financial goals for 2019, including a 10% growth in its operating profit.
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