Casino falls after its earnings warning

PARIS, Jan 31 (Reuters) – Casino CASP.PA fell sharply in early trading on the Paris Stock Exchange on Monday after lowering its 2021 Ebitda forecast for its brands in France on Friday.

At 9:16 am, the action of the retail group fell 7.30% to 21.07 euros, the largest drop in the SBF 120 index. SBF120, which advanced by 0.85%.

In its wake, competitor Carrefour CARR.PA dropped 2.66%, the bottom of the CAC 40 .FCHI index (0.87%).

Casino, which previously expected an increase in its Ebitda in France this year, now estimates that it will be down 1.7%, to around 1.28 billion euros against 1.304 billion in 2020.

“A temporarily shrinking market”

“The fourth quarter of 2021 was marked in France by a temporarily shrinking market, in stronger than expected proportions, with a change in the food distribution market of -3.7% at the national level and -5.6% in Ile-de-France,” Casino said in a short statement.

The retailer will publish its fourth quarter sales and annual results on February 25.

In a note released on Monday, Jefferies analysts point out that the new forecast implies the possibility of a 10% drop in Ebitda in France in the second half after a 9% rise in the first half.

“Our focus will be on how earnings pressure translates to cash flow and leverage,” they say.

(Blandine Hénault report, edited by Marc Angrand) (([email protected];))