Casino beats expectations in Q2

French supermarket group Casino reported an improving performance in the second quarter, beating expectations even though sales in its domestic market lagged when compared to the first quarter.

Sales rose 1.8 per cent year-on-year in the three months to June to €9.97bn on a like-for-like basis, more than the €9.83bn analysts were expecting. Overall sales slipped 7 per cent.

In France, which accounts for around half of group revenue, sales grew 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis to €4.7bn. That was less than the 1.5 per cent same-store growth reported in the first quarter, which Casino attributed to poor weather, a drop in tourist numbers to the north of the country as well as “social unrest” – a reference to a wave of industrial unrest which unfolded between May and June.

Casino’s operations in south America, unsurprisingly, proved to be a drag due to the effect of currencies in the region depreciating although the overall sales figure obscured improvement on a like-for-like basis. Retail sales in Casino’s supermarket operations there were €3.5bn, down 11.1 per cent, with same-store sales up 7.1 per cent. Same-store revenue grew at both Colombian supermarket chain Exito, in which Casino has a controlling stake, as well as Brazil, where Casino is trimming the number of stores.