Third-quarter 2022

Consolidated net sales up +10.6% as reported and +5.4% on a same-store basis:

France (excluding GreenYellow) reported a +26% increase in EBITDA after lease payments in Q3 compared to previous year. Cash flow improved by €415m compared to Q3 2021. Net debt excluding IFRS 5 was stable over 12 months, and improved by €0.6bn taking into account the disposal of GreenYellow.

Potential disposal of part of the stake in Assaí for at least $500m in order to accelerate the Group's deleveraging.

France

FRANCE

France Retail
The banners maintained good growth momentum in an inflationary environment, thanks to initiatives aimed at supporting purchasing power, with sales up +3.9% on a same-store basis (+2.1% on a reported basis due mainly to a drop in fuel sales). The Parisian banners saw a sharp +4.8% acceleration in same-store sales (+2.1% in Q2 2022), in a market shaped by the return of tourists. The convenience banners enjoyed strong growth momentum, driven by their positioning in buoyant regions (Paris and its suburbs, Rhône-Alpes, Côte d'Azur) and the sustained pace of new store openings.

 Same-store change in sales1 
 Q2 2022Q3 2022 
Hypermarkets+2.9%+2.2% 
Supermarkets+2.4%+1.6% 
Convenience+11.7%+6.3% 
Casino banners+4.8%+3.0% 
Monoprix+2.2%+4.1% 
Franprix+1.7%+8.4% 
Parisian banners+2.1%+4.8% 
FRANCE RETAIL+3.4%+3.9% 

Strategic priorities:

Cdiscount
In a contracting market, Cdiscount pursued its strategy of improving its business mix to focus on the marketplace, which accounted for 52% of GMV in Q3 2022 (+9 pts vs. Q3 2021). Marketplace GMV was up +7% compared to Q3 2019 (-3% vs. Q3 2021), while direct sales were down.

The cost savings plan targeting €75m in savings on a full-year basis by 2023 is ongoing and should deliver savings of over €30m in H2 2022.

Disposal plan
The disposal plan represents €4.1bn in divestments signed or secured out of a target of €4.5bn. The Group completed the disposal of GreenYellow on 18 October 2022, and has signed additional disposals for €115m (including €64m relating to CChezVous and €51m relating to property disposals).

Financial indicators – France2

EBITDA: over the quarter, EBITDA after lease payments increased by +26% to €184m (€146m in Q3 2021), driven by sales growth and cost control.

Net debt:
In Q3 2022, the increase in net debt due to customary seasonal trends was -€91m compared to -€506m in Q3 2021, including:

Over 12 months, the change in net debt was -€40m compared to -€455m at end-June, due to the improvement in operating cash flow and disposals (excluding GreenYellow).
After taking into account the disposal of GreenYellow3 completed on 18 October, net debt stood at €4.6bn, an improvement of +€560m over 12 months.

France scope, including Cdiscount, excluding GreenYellow

In €m
Net debt excluding IFRS 5
Q3 2021
(3 months)
Q3 2022
(3 months)
Change Q2 2022
(12 months)
Q3 2022
(12 months)
Change
Net debt at 30 June(4,633)(5,088) Net debt at beginning of period(4,633)(5,139) 
Change in net debt-506-91+415Change in net debt-455-40+415
Net debt at 30 September excluding the disposal of GreenYellow(5,139)(5,179) Net debt at beginning of period excluding the disposal of GreenYellow(5,088)(5,179) 
Disposal of GreenYellow2-+600 Disposal of GreenYellow2-+600 
Net debt at 30 September after the disposal of GreenYellow(5,139)(4,579) Net debt at end of period after the disposal of GreenYellow(5,088)(4,579) 

Group liquidity in France4: at 30 September 2022, liquidity stood at €2.5bn, of which:

RCF covenants: the secured leverage ratio stood at 2.72x (headroom of €605m on debt compared with the 3.50x covenant), and the EBITDA after lease payments/net finance costs ratio at 4.09x (headroom of €300m on EBITDA compared with the 2.50x covenant).

Latin America

LATIN AMERICA

Net sales up +23% as reported over the third quarter (+9% at constant exchange rates), and +11% on a same-store basis. Assaí and Grupo Éxito recorded robust growth of +49% and +25% respectively, and +28% and +20% respectively at constant exchange rates.
GPA Brazil net sales increased by +7% on a same-store basis. Taking into account the closure of the Extra hypermarkets sold to Assaí, total net sales fell by -21% (-32% at constant exchange rates).

The conversion of GPA hypermarkets to the Assaí banner continued, with 19 stores opened to date. Assaí now expects 45 stores to be converted by the end of 2022, ahead of its initial target of 40. Stores already converted to the Assaí banner have outperformed initial expectations.

A project to spin off GPA and Grupo Éxito has been launched in order to unlock Grupo Éxito’s value. This transaction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, subject to obtaining the necessary authorisations. Following the spin-off, the Group would hold interests in three separate listed assets in a buoyant context in Brazil and Colombia, opening the way to valuation options for these assets.

In this context, in order to accelerate its deleveraging, the Group has launched a study of a potential sale of part of its stake in Assaí for an amount of approximately $500m, which could, if necessary, be increased depending on market conditions.

Consolidated net sales by segment

Net sales (in €m)Q3 2022Total
growth
Growth excluding fuelOrganic
growth5
Same-store
growth5
France Retail3,634+2.1%+3.3%+3.6%+3.9%
Cdiscount 374-23.9%-23.9%-23.9%-23.9%
Total France4,008-1.1%-0.3%0.0%-1.0%
Latam Retail4,545+23.4%+24.4%+9.4%+11.2%
GROUP TOTAL8,553+10.6%+11.8%+4.6%+5.4%
Cdiscount GMV779-22.6%n.a.n.a.n.a.

In the third-quarter of 2022, the currency effect stood at +6.9%, the calendar effect was 0.0%, changes in scope of consolidation had a negative impact of -0.1% and the fuel effect came to -0.8%.

Outlook for 2022 in France
Casino Group’s priority remains growth and maintaining a good level of profitability to ensure increased cash flow generation.

For FY 2022, the Group confirms its targets:

Disposal plan for non-strategic assets

The asset disposal plan represents €4.1bn in disposals signed or secured to date. The Group confirms its aim of completing its €4.5bn disposal plan (€0.4bn of which remains to be made) by the end of 2023.

Buybacks of debt securities

Since 30 June, the Group has cancelled EMTN 2023, EMTN 2024 and Quatrim 2024 notes for an aggregate par value of €104.6m.

TranchePar value at
30 June 2022
Cancelled between 1 July and 30 Sept.Par value at
30 Sept. 2022
Cancelled between 1 Oct. and 27 Oct.Par value at
27 Oct. 2022
EMTN 2023€219.5m€20.5m€199.0m€9.3m€189.7m
EMTN 2024€557.7m-€557.7m€28.7m€529.0m
Quatrim 2024€765.9m€35.0m€730.9m€11.1m€719.8m
TOTAL €55.5m €49.1m 

Ratings
S&P: CCC+, developing outlook
Moody's: B3, negative outlook
Scope: BB-, stable outlook


Consolidated net sales in France by banner

 Q2 2022/Q2 2021 changeQ3 2022/Q3 2021 change
Net sales by banner (in €m)Q2 2022
net sales
Total growthOrganic growth9Same-store growth9Q3 2022 net salesTotal growthOrganic growth9Same-store growth9
Hypermarkets775-8.1%10+3.3%+2.9%761-14.1%10+3.1%+2.2%
Supermarkets857+20.7%10+1.4%+2.4%958+13.5%10+0.1%+1.6%
Convenience & Other11456+1.4%+0.2%+11.6%523+5.0%+4.5%+6.4%
o/w Convenience12387+13.3%+14.5%+11.7%444+8.0%+9.0%+6.3%
Monoprix1,111+1.6%+2.0%+2.2%1,040+3.5%+5.0%+4.1%
Franprix385+1.8%+2.4%+1.7%352+7.5%+8.2%+8.4%
FRANCE RETAIL3,584+3.1%+1.8%+3.4%3,634+2.1%+3.6%+3.9%

For France Retail, sales for the quarter came to €3,634m, up +3.9% on a same-store basis (vs. -1.6% in Q1 2022 and +3.4% in Q2 2022). The food E-commerce segment remained very strong, recording growth in net sales of +22% for the quarter.
The Group opened 151 new convenience stores during the quarter (Franprix, Spar, Vival, etc.), and continued to adapt its stores to new consumption patterns, with 19 traditional Géant hypermarkets now converted into Casino Hyper Frais (15 of which were converted during Q3).
The Group has 654 stores offering automated solutions, enabling them to operate autonomously in the evening and on Sundays (639 stores at end-2021). Two-thirds of payments in Géant hypermarkets and Casino Supermarkets are now made by smartphone or at an automated checkout.
This strategy has strengthened customer loyalty and ensured the success of subscriptions in the Casino, Monoprix and now Naturalia (since 25 August) banners. The Group had nearly 350,000 paying subscribers at 30 September (300,000 at end-June 2022).

Business review by banner:

This fast-paced expansion, driven both by a new generation of franchisees and by our long-standing franchise partners, confirms the attractiveness and robustness of the Franprix model in our target expansion areas (Paris region, Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur). The master franchise agreements signed with new players in October will accelerate this growth momentum.

Since the beginning of the year, 346 new stores have been opened, representing more than one store per day, either new franchises or stores previously affiliated with other banners. This expansion picked up pace in October with the arrival of master franchisees Magne, Bérard and Les Nouveaux Robinson, for a total of 161 points of sale in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions, following the affiliation of 25 stores in Q3, including Coop de Champagne (14 stores) and Triangle (8 stores).

RelevanC

RelevanC maintained its growth momentum in Q3 2022. The subsidiary launched a new personalised digital catalogue offer which will initially be deployed at Monoprix.

Outside France, RelevanC is also enjoying strong momentum in Latin America, with solid growth in Brazil and new offices opened in Colombia.

Cdiscount13         

During the quarter Cdiscount continued its strategy of improving its business mix to focus on the marketplace, which now represents 52% of total GMV, up +9 pts year on year and +12 pts versus 2019.

In an unsettled macroeconomic environment, marketplace GMV for Cdiscount was up +7% compared with the pre-Covid period and virtually stable over one year (-3%). Total GMV was down -15% on a same-store basis, reflecting the -32% decrease in GMV from direct sales. Marketplace revenues increased by +26% compared with the pre-Covid period and were stable over one year.

Digital marketing benefited from vigorous activity on the CARS digital marketing platform (Cdiscount Ads Retail Solution), whose revenues increased by +22% in the quarter.

Octopia continued its fast-paced expansion and now has 25 customers for its Octopia Marketplace-as-a-Service and Merchants-as-a-Service solutions, of which 9 are already operational.

The cost savings plan targeting €75m in savings on a full-year basis by 2023 is ongoing. At the end of Q3 2022, the plan was on track to achieve the savings expected in H2 2022 for an amount of more than €30m.

Key figures13Q3 2021Q3 2022Change
Total GMV including tax1,006779-22.6%
o/w direct sales 451305-32.3%
o/w marketplace sales342332-2.9%
Marketplace contribution (%)43.2%52.2%+9.0 pts
Marketplace revenues4545+0.2%
Net sales (in €m)526379-27.9%
Traffic (millions of visits)247228-7.7%
Orders (millions)6.45.3-16.8%

Cnova published its Q3 2022 sales figures on 20 October 2022, before market opening.

Latam Retail

The Group's net sales in Latin America (Assaí, GPA Brazil and Grupo Éxito) rose by a total of +23.4% as reported (+8.9% at constant exchange rates), by +11.2% on a same-store basis, and by +9.4% on an organic basis. The quarter was shaped once again by excellent performances from Assaí and Grupo Éxito.

Conversion of Extra hypermarkets: the process of converting Extra hypermarkets to Assaí's cash & carry format has advanced rapidly, with 19 stores converted to date (14 during the quarter and five since early October). Assaí now expects 45 stores to be converted in H2 2022, ahead of its initial target of 40. GPA continued its conversion of Extra hypermarkets, with 14 stores converted during the quarter, including 10 to the Pão de Açúcar format and 4 to the Mercado Extra format, completing the conversion plan of 23 stores.

GPA published its Q3 2022 sales figures on 20 October 2022.
Assaí published its earnings on 20 October 2022.

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION RELATING TO BOND REFINANCINGS SINCE 2019

See press release dated 21 November 2019

In France (excluding GreenYellow), secured leverage ratio of 2.72x (headroom of €605m on secured gross debt) and EBITDA after lease payments/net finance costs ratio of 4.09x (headroom of €300m on EBITDA)

Financial information for the 3-month period ended 30 September 2022:
Data for Latin America will be published once the Latin American subsidiaries have reported their results.

In €mFrance15
(France Retail + E-commerce)
 Q3 2021Q3 2022Change
Net sales4,0514,008-44
EBITDA309342+34
(-) impact of leases16(158)(154)+4
EBITDA including leases151188+37

In France, EBITDA amounted to €342m for the quarter. The change compared to Q3 2021 is mainly attributable to the increase in EBITDA for the retail banners.

Financial information for the 12-month period ended 30 September 2022:

In €mFrance15
(France Retail
+ E-commerce)
Net sales15,977
EBITDA1,426
(-) impact of leases16(597)
(i) EBITDA including leases829
(ii) Gross debt175,722
(iii) Cash and cash equivalents18403

EBITDA including leases over the rolling 12-month period ended 30 September 2022 came out at €829m in France.

At 30 September 2022, the Group's liquidity in France stood at €2.5bn (€2.1bn at end-September 2021), including:

Excluding GreenYellow and disposals, the change in net debt in Q3 2022 represented -€230m, an improvement compared with last year, reflecting customary seasonal trends19.

At 30 September 2022, gross debt included €66m in commercial paper and €170m in drawn down unsecured credit lines (vs. €312m in commercial paper and €650m in drawn down credit lines at end-September 2021).

Additional information regarding covenants and segregated accounts:

Covenants tested as from 30 June 2021 pursuant to the Revolving Credit Facility dated 18 November 2019, as amended in July 2021

 
Type of covenant (France and E-commerce excluding GreenYellow)At 30 September 2022
Secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments ≤ 3.50x2.72x
EBITDA after lease payments/Net finance costs ≥ 2.50x4.09x

The secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments covenant stood at 2.72x, with EBITDA after lease payments of €773m and secured debt of €2.1bn.

Both covenants were met comfortably:

The balance of the segregated account was €0 at 30 September 2022. At 27 October 2022, the balance was €189.7m, enough to cover the maturity date of January 2023.

The balance of the secured segregated account was €77.5m at 30 September 2022 (vs. €111m at 30 June), after taking into account buybacks of the secured bond maturing in January 2024. As a reminder, the balance of the secured segregated account stood at €66.7 million at 13 October 2022 following additional buybacks of the same issue in early October.

No cash has been credited or debited from the bond segregated account and its balance remained at €0.

APPENDICES – OTHER INFORMATION

Main changes in scope

  • Conversion of 20 Géant Casino hypermarkets into Casino supermarkets on 1 May 2022

Exchange rate

AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATESQ3 2021Q3 2022Currency effect
Brazil (EUR/BRL)6.15935.2834+16.6%
Colombia (EUR/COP) (x 1000)4.53054.4135+2.7%
Uruguay (EUR/UYP)50.979241.1047+24.0%
Argentina (EUR/ARS)20114.6392136.7141-16.1%

Gross sales under banner in France

TOTAL ESTIMATED GROSS SALES
UNDER BANNER (in €m, excluding fuel)
Q3 2022

 
Change
(incl. calendar effects)

 
  
Monoprix 1,098+4.7%
Franprix 419+9.3%
Supermarkets  880+15.1%
Hypermarkets 703-10.6%
Convenience & Other  784+3.6%
o/w Convenience 705+6.4%
TOTAL FRANCE RETAIL 3,883+3.9%


TOTAL GROSS SALES UNDER BANNER
(in €m, excluding fuel)
Q3 2022

 
Change
(incl. calendar effects)

 
  
Total France 3,883+3.9%
Cdiscount 647-19.6%
TOTAL FRANCE RETAIL AND CDISCOUNT 4,530-0.3%

Store network

FRANCE31 Dec. 202131 March 202230 June 202230 Sept. 2022
Géant Casino/Hyper Frais hypermarkets95977777
o/w French franchised affiliates3333
International affiliates7999
Casino Supermarkets 429437464461
o/w French franchised affiliates61606263
International affiliates26272723
Monoprix (Monop', Naturalia, etc.)838842853849
o/w franchised affiliates206215226235
Naturalia integrated stores198198194183
Naturalia franchises51515563
Franprix9429781,0351,069
o/w franchises614649711747
Franprix banner782799822836
Other banners (Marché d’à côté, etc.)160179213233
Convenience
o/w Vival
o/w Spar
o/w Petit Casino and similar
o/w oil companies
o/w affiliates
o/w other convenience outlets21
5,728
1,724
898
946
1,370
90
700
5,859
1,762
903
985
1,393
92
724
5,960
1,779
908
1,019
1,400
92
762
6,060
1,786
913
1,043
1,414
94
810
Other businesses 290291281281
Total France8,3228,5048,6708,797


INTERNATIONAL31 Dec. 202131 March 202230 June 202230 Sept. 2022
ARGENTINA 25252629
Libertad hypermarkets15151614
DI Libertad0005
Mini Libertad and Petit Libertad mini-supermarkets10101010
URUGUAY94939392
Géant hypermarkets2222
Disco supermarkets30303030
Devoto supermarkets24242424
Devoto Express mini-supermarkets36353534
Möte2222
BRAZIL1,021917914932
Extra hypermarkets7231215
Pão de Açúcar supermarkets181181179190
Extra supermarkets146146149153
Compre Bem28283030
Assaí (cash & carry)212216220233
Mini Mercado Extra & Minuto Pão de Açúcar mini-supermarkets240241241247
Drugstores68000
+ Service stations74747474
COLOMBIA2,0632,0362,0492,068
Éxito hypermarkets91919191
Éxito and Carulla supermarkets158153153153
Super Inter supermarkets61606060
Surtimax (discount)1,6321,6191,6341,652
o/w "Aliados"1,5601,5491,5641,585
B2B36374142
Éxito Express and Carulla Express mini-supermarkets85767070
Total Latam3,2033,0713,0823,121

Analyst and investor contacts
-

Lionel Benchimol
+ 33 (0)1 53 65 64 17 – lbenchimol@groupe-casino.fr

or
+ 33 (0)1 53 65 24 17 – IR_Casino@groupe-casino.fr

Press contacts
-

Casino Group – Communications Department

Stéphanie Abadie
+ 33 (0)6 26 27 37 05 – sabadie@groupe-casino.fr

or
+ 33 (0)1 53 65 24 78 – directiondelacommunication@groupe-casino.fr

-

Agence IMAGE 7

Karine Allouis
+ 33 (0)1 53 70 74 84 – kallouis@image7.fr

Laurent Poinsot
+ 33 (0)6 80 11 73 52 – lpoinsot@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. Recipients should not consider it as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgement. All the opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.


1 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
2 France scope including Cdiscount, excluding GreenYellow – Net debt excluding IFRS 5
3 €600m, of which €30m paid into a segregated account to be released subject to compliance with operating indicators
4 Scope as defined in 2019 bond refinancing documentation and including Segisor in the France Retail + E-commerce scope (see page 9)
5 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
6 €600m, of which €30m paid into a segregated account to be released subject to compliance with operating indicators
7 Amount before transaction costs. In accordance with IFRS, the transaction with Farallon has no impact on net debt at 30 September 2022
8 Already included in net debt at end-June 2022
9 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
10 Total growth including the conversion of 20 hypermarkets into supermarkets
11 Other: mainly Geimex
12 Net sales on a same-store basis include the same-store performance of franchised stores
13 Unaudited data published by Cnova NV. The reported figures present all revenues generated by Cdiscount, including its technical goods sales in Casino Group’s hypermarkets and supermarkets
14 Data published by the subsidiaries – GPA same-store changes excluding gas stations
15 Unaudited data, scope as defined in bond refinancing documentation with mainly Segisor accounted for within the France Retail + E-commerce scope including GreenYellow
16 Interest paid on lease liabilities and repayment of lease liabilities as defined in the refinancing documentation
17 Borrowings and debt at 30 September 2022 – In accordance with IFRS, the transaction with Farallon has no impact on net debt at 30 September 2022 – Amount excluding GreenYellow, classified in IFRS 5
18 Data as of 30 September 2022 – amount excluding GreenYellow, classified under IFRS 5
19 The change in working capital is typically negative in the first quarter, positive in the second, negative in the third, and positive in the fourth quarter
20 Pursuant to the application of IAS 29, the exchange rate used to convert the Argentina figures corresponds to the rate at the reporting date
21 Outlets under specific banners with a Casino supply contract

Attachment