Casino Says Profit Surpassed Target for 2016 After Strong 4Q

By Inti Landauro and Nick Kostov

PARIS--French retailer Groupe Casino SA Tuesday said its trading profit in 2016 was slightly above its target of 500 million euros after its sales growth accelerated in the fourth quarter.

The company, which operates supermarkets in France and abroad, reported sales worth EUR10.03 billion ($10.63 billion) for the three months ended Dec. 31, up 9.1% from the same period a year earlier, as strong growth in Brazil and Colombia offset a small contraction in its domestic market.

Casino said its business in France posted a 0.5% decline, as revenue from its smaller convenience stores contracted.

The French retailer will release full earnings in the coming weeks, but it said it estimates it surpassed the goal to book a EUR500 million trading profit in 2016, which was seen ambitious by analysts since the company had booked an EUR85 million trading profit in the first half of the year.

Latin America fueled the rise in Casino's sales. The group posted double-digit percentage gains there in both its retail and electronics businesses. Food sales in particular were buoyant, gaining 23% on the same period a year earlier. Excluding the currency effect, Latin America food sales rose 12%.

In the run-up to the sales update, analysts pointed to improvements in France, a refocusing on food retail in Brazil and key disposals, which have simplified the company's structure, as reasons for optimism in the coming months. Last year, Casino started a divestment program to cut debt, selling its businesses in Thailand and Vietnam.

Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com and Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2017 02:51 ET (07:51 GMT)

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