2016 FULL YEAR RESULTS
- Consolidated net sales of €36.0bn , up +5.7% in organic terms.
- In France: same-store sales up +0.3%, organic sales up +0.8% and gross sales under banners up 1.5% (1) over the full year. The Group confirms its market share gains.
- In Latin America: excellent operating performance with organic growth of +10.8% at Éxito. At GPA Food, success of Assai and acceleration in organic sales.
- E-commerce: strong growth in the marketplace and traffic, and success for "Cdiscount à volonté" ("Cdiscount at will").
- Consolidated trading profit of €1,034m for the full year:
- In France , marked recovery in earnings: trading profit of €508m (from €337m in 2015), of which €421m excluding property development.
- In Latin America, continued high margins; lower profits in Brazil due to the sales revitalisation programmes at Extra and the economic environment.
- E-commerce: improved profitability at Cdiscount, lifted by the rising marketplace.
- Consolidated net profit, Group share of €2,679m reflecting capital gains from the divestment of operations in Asia.
- Underlying net profit, Group share of €341m .
- Excluding the 2016 interim dividend payment, the Group generated free cash flow of +€273m (2) in France.
- Sharp reduction in Casino consolidated financial net debt ( €3,367m vs €6,073m).
- Dividend of €3.12 in respect of 2016 submitted for approval at the Annual General Meeting. Taking into account the interim dividend paid in November 2016, the remaining dividend payment amounts to €1.56 per share.
The Board of Directors met on 6 March 2017 to approve the parent company and consolidated financial statements for 2016. The statutory auditors have completed their audit of the financial statements and are in the process of issuing their report.
Jean-Charles Naouri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Casino stated :
"In 2016, Casino simplified its organisation and considerably reduced its debt. The Group achieved its objectives in France, with a confirmed recovery in profitability, strong cash flow generation and a reduction in net debt. It now aims to continue growing its sales and results in 2017 . It will continue to adapt to new consumer trends by developing the most buoyant formats, premium, discount, proximity and e-commerce "
| In €m | 2015 | 2016 |
| Net Sales | 35,312 | 36,030 |
| EBITDA | 1,689 | 1,697 |
| EBITDA margin | 4.8% | 4.7% |
| Trading profit | 997 | 1,034 |
| Trading margin | 2.8% | 2.9% |
| Trading profit and income of equity associates | 1,054 | 1,054 |
| Reported net profit, Group share | (43) | 2,679 |
| Underlying net profit, Group share | 357 | 341 |
| Consolidated net debt | (6,073) | (3,367) |
| Casino consolidated net debt in France | (6,081) | (3,200) |
2015 data have been restated from the divested operations in Asia. In addition, following the end-2016 decision to sell Via Varejo, and in accordance with IFRS 5, Via Varejo (including Cnova Brazil) has been reclassified as discontinued activity.
Consolidated net sales of €36.0bn supported by good progression of activity in France and improved sales in Brazil
In 2016, consolidated net sales rose +5.7% on an organic basis to €36.0bn.
In France , organic sales growth stood at +0.8%. The turnaround reflects strong commercial momentum over the year. The Group achieved and maintained a +0.1pt gain (1) in market share in 2016. Géant turned in an excellent performance in food sales (up +2.7% on a same-store basis) and continued to streamline its non-food offer by reducing non-food retail space, leading to a -1.6% decrease in total retail space. Leader Price stepped up its development through franchises. Franprix pursued the roll-out of its Mandarine concept and Supermarchés Casino successfully developed a more qualitative model. Monoprix performed well over the full year and continued its dynamic expansion.
Food retail activities' sales in Latin America surged by 11.4% (2) on an organic basis during the year, lifted by the strong development of cash & carry, the success of hypermarkets revitalisation programmes in Brazil and continued solid performances in Colombia, Argentina and Uruguay.
Within the E-commerce segment, Cdiscount's Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV) showed satisfactory growth (+13.6% on an same-store basis (3) in 2016) supported by the marketplace's good performance.
Consolidated trading profit up +3.8% (+8.4% at constant exchange rates), led by the upturn in profitability in France
Consolidated trading profit totalled €1,034m in 2016 versus €997m in 2015, reflecting the success of the sales revitalisation programmes in France. At constant exchange rates, consolidated trading profit came to €1,080m.
Trading profit in France improved significantly to €508m from €337m in 2015. Retail operations, (i.e., excluding property development) trading profit in France totalled €421m. This sharp increase reflects solid operating performances at Monoprix, Franprix and Supermarchés Casino. In 2016, Leader Price resumed to profitability and the Géant banner strongly reduced its losses.
Property development trading profit stood at €87m versus €167m in 2015.
The trading profit of food retail operations in Latin America declined by -23.0% over the year to €538m (-16.5% at constant exchange rates).
In Brazil, profitability was impacted by the new sales strategy at Extra and the macroeconomic environment. The segment achieved a trading margin of +3.5%.
E-commerce posted a trading loss of -€11m at end-2016. Cdiscount's profitability improved sharply from the previous year, driven by the development of the marketplace.
Underlying financial income and underlying net profit, Group share (1)
Net underlying financial income stood at -€411m for the full year versus -€237m in 2015. In France, financial income improved as a result of debt buybacks and of the unwinding of the related interest rate swaps. This improvement was partially offset by a step-up in the interest rate paid on the Group's bonds following the change in Standard and Poor's rating.
Latam Retail's financial income was impacted by Éxito's increased debt and by higher rates in Brazil and Colombia.
Underlying net profit from continuing operations, Group share came to +€341m, down slightly from +€357m in 2015.
Diluted underlying earnings per share (2) stood at €2.561 in 2016.
Consolidated net profit, Group share
Consolidated net profit, Group share , after taking into account a substantial gain on asset disposals recognised under discontinued operations, came to €2,679m.
Diluted consolidated earnings per share amounted to €23.593, reflecting the period's disposals.
Financial situation at 31 December 2016
Consolidated net financial debt totalled €3,367m at 31 December 2016 versus €6,073m as at end 2015, due primarily to free cash flow generation and asset disposals in 2016.
Net debt of Casino in France excluding Cdiscount (3) at 31 December 2016 totalled €3,200m, also down sharply from €6,081m at 31 December 2015. Including Cdiscount's net cash position, it stood at €3,032m.
The net debt to EBITDA ratio of continuing operations improved sharply to 2.0x from 2.6x (4) in 2015.
At 31 December 2016, Casino in France (3) had €7.4bn in liquidity , composed of a significant gross cash position of €3.6bn and confirmed undrawn lines of credit of €3.8bn.
Casino has been rated BB+ (stable outlook) by Standard & Poor's since 21 March 2016 and BBB- (negative outlook) by Fitch Ratings since 14 December 2016.
Dividend
The Board of Directors decided to propose a dividend of €3.12 per share in respect of 2016 to the Annual General Meeting that will meet on 5 May 2017.
Taking into account the interim dividend paid in November 2016, the remaining payment comes to €1.56 per share. The ex-dividend date will be 9 May 2017, and the dividend will be payable in cash on 11 May 2017.
2017 Perspectives
In 2017, the Group will pursue its priorities:
- Adapting the formats in real time to new consumer trends and developing the most buoyant formats
- Continuing improvement of operational excellence
The Group's key objectives for 2017 are the following:
- An improvement in net financial debt/EBITDA ratio
- In France, Casino Group aims at reaching c.15% growth in trading profit of food retail activity and forecasts a contribution from its property development activities of c.€60m
- The Group also expects a growth of at least 10% in its consolidated trading profit, under current forex conditions
The presentation of the 2016 annual results will be available on the Casino Group corporate website ( www.groupe-casino.fr ).
The definitions of the main non-GAPP indicators will also be available on the website.
***
Consolidated net sales by segment
| Net Sales In €m | 2015 | 2016 | |
| France Retail | 18,890 | 18,939 | |
| Latam Retail | 14,714 | 15,247 | |
| E-commerce | 1,708 | 1,843 | |
| Total Group | 35,312 | 36,030 |
Consolidated EBITDA by segment
| EBITDA In €m | 2015 | 2016 at CER (1) | 2016 |
| France Retail | 726 | 872 | 872 |
| Latam Retail | 980 | 880 | 816 |
| E-commerce | (17) | 9 | 10 |
| Total Group | 1,689 | 1,762 | 1,697 |
Consolidated trading profit by segment
| Trading profit In €m | 2015 | 2016 at CER (1) | 2016 |
| France Retail | 337 | 508 | 508 |
| Latam Retail | 698 | 583 | 538 |
| E-commerce | (39) | (12) | (11) |
| Total Group | 997 | 1,080 | 1,034 |
2016 Results (1)
| In €m | 2015 | 2016 |
| Net Sales | 35,312 | 36,030 |
| EBITDA | 1,689 | 1,697 |
| Trading profit | 997 | 1,034 |
| Trading profit and income of equity associates | 1,054 | 1,054 |
| Other operating income and expense | (349) | (625) |
| Operating profit | 648 | 409 |
| Net financial costs | (240) | (324) |
| Other financial income and expense | (340) | (35) |
| Tax expense | (13) | (34) |
| Share in the profits of equity associates | 57 | 20 |
| Net profit from continuing operations, Group share | (65) | 33 |
| Net profit from discontinued operations, Group share | 21 | 2,645 |
| Net profit (loss), Group share | (43) | 2,679 |
| Underlying net profit, Group share | 357 | 341 |
Underlying net profit
| In €m | 2015 | Restated items | 2015 underlying | 2016 | Restated items | 2016 underlying |
| Trading profit | 997 | 997 | 1,034 | 1,034 | ||
| Other operating income and expense | (349) | 349 | (625) | 625 | ||
| Operating profit | 648 | 349 | 997 | 409 | 625 | 1,034 |
| Net financing costs | (240) | (240) | (324) | (324) | ||
| Other financial income and expense (1) | (340) | 344 | 3 | (35) | (51) | (87) |
| Tax expense (2) | (13) | (206) | (219) | (34) | (155) | (189) |
| Share in the profits of equity associates | 57 | 57 | 20 | 20 | ||
| Net profit from continuing operations | 111 | 486 | 597 | 36 | 419 | 455 |
| Attributable to minority interests (3) | 175 | 65 | 240 | 2 | 111 | 114 |
| Of which Group share | (65) | 422 | 357 | 33 | 307 | 341 |
Underlying net profit corresponds to net profit from continuing operations adjusted for the impact of other operating income and expense, as defined in the "Significant Accounting Policies" Section of the notes to the annual consolidated financial statements, and to non-recurring financial items and non-recurring tax credits and expenses.
Non-recurring financial items include fair value adjustments to equity derivative instruments (such as total return swap and forward contracts on GPA shares) and effects of monetary updating of tax liabilities in Brazil.
Non-recurring income tax credits and expenses correspond to tax effects that are directly related to the above adjustments and to direct non-recurring tax effects. Accordingly, the tax expense applied to underlying pre-tax profit corresponds to the standardised average tax expense for the Group.
Simplified Consolidated Balance Sheet
| In €m | 2015 | 2016 |
| Non-current assets | 26,490 | 23,538 |
| Current assets | 13,343 | 18,503 |
| Total assets | 39,833 | 42,042 |
| Total equity | 12,419 | 14,440 |
| Non-current financial liabilities | 9,594 | 7,733 |
| Other non-current liabilities | 2,906 | 2,681 |
| Current liabilities | 14,914 | 17,189 |
| Total equity and liabilities | 38,933 | 42,042 |
Breakdown of net financial debt by entity
| In €m | 2015 | 2016 |
| France Retail | (6,081) | (3,200) |
| Latam Retail | (993) | (1,032) |
| o/w GPA Food | (227) | (221) |
| o/w Éxito (excluding GPA Food) | (766) | (810) |
| Latam Electronics | 1,119 | 697 |
| Asia | (146) | 0 |
| E-commerce | 29 | 168 |
| Total | (6,073) | (3,367) |
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
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.
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