Casino reports further gains in Q2 | Progresiv

Casino has reported a strong set of results for its fiscal second quarter, helped by growth in Latin America.

For the quarter, sales were up 3.8% to 9.97 billion euros on an organic basis (-7% reported), accelerating from the 1.5% growth reported in the first quarter, while like-for-like sales grew by 1.8%.  The group was helped by a 11.8% jump in sales at its Latin American retail unit (+7.1% LFL) and a 0.3% increase at its Latin American electronics unit (+2.6% LFL).  This helped offset a weak 1.2% rise in organic sales at its French unit (+0.2% LFL) and a 13.5% drop in sales at its Cnova online unit.

In its home market, Casino was hurt by poor weather and a drop in tourism following the recent terrorist attacks. Organic sales growth at its hypermarkets, Leader Price, Monoprix, and convenience store banners all slowed down from the first quarter, but the Supermarchés Casino and Franprix banners reported improved results.

Internationally, the GPA unit in Brazil reported an acceleration in sales growth, with the Food unit reporting sales up 11.4% on an organic basis and Assai reporting a 37.6% jump in sales.  The Exito unit, meanwhile, also continued to improve on its performance in the first quarter. Crucially, the Via Varejo electronics unit showed considerable improvement, and gained market share. (www.kamcity.com)