Earnings Release • May 6, 2021
Earnings Release
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First-quarter 2021 confirmed the second-half 2020 trend of increased profitability across all geographies This profitability improvement led to faster debt reduction
Consolidated net sales of €7.1bn, stable on a same-store basis, and up 6.5% over 2 years
In France, excellent quarter for Cdiscount, with marketplace revenues up +43% In Latin America, growth remained very strong at Assaí, with sales up +21%
| Q1 EBITDA: +21% at constant exchange rates | Q1 EBITDA after lease payments: +49% at constant exchange rates |
|---|---|
| +19% in France, margin: +130 bps | +372% in France, margin: +84 bps |
| +22% in Latam, margin: +86 bps | +29% in Latam, margin: +79 bps |
| Gross debt: -€1,625m reduction versus Q1 2020 | Net debt (excl. IFRS 5): -€1,033m reduction versus Q1 2020 |
| -€965m in France | -€467m in France (-€715m including settlement of GPA TRS) |
| -€660m in Latam | -€566m in Latam |
Profitability increased sharply once again, with an EBITDA margin up +130 bps versus Q1 2020, driven by (i) cost-saving and operational efficiency plans in the brick-and-mortar banners and (ii) Cdiscount's good performance.
| In €m | Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA | 172 | 204 | +19% |
| EBITDA after lease payments | 9 | 40 | +372% |
EBITDA was up +19% versus Q1 2020, in a context of lower net sales relative to the exceptionally high basis of comparison during the first lockdown.

Profitability up sharply with reported EBITDA up +32%2 , from BRL 1.2bn to BRL 1.6bn.
The Assaí spin-off operation was highly successful. The combined value of GPA and Assaí shares has increased from BRL 62 to BRL 125, and from USD 12 to USD 23 since the announcement of the spin-off 4 .
Key figures
| Net sales (in €m) | Q1 2021 |
Total growth |
Organic growth5 |
Same-store 5 growth |
Same-store 5 over growth 2 years |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France Retail | 3,388 | -12.8% | -7.3% | -6.4% | -1.0% | |
| Cdiscount | 483 | +7.6% | +7.6% | +7.6% | +1.4% | |
| Total France | 3,871 | -10.7% | -5.6% | -4.3% | -0.5% | |
| Latam Retail | 3,275 | -17.3% | +8.4% | +4.0% | +12.8% | |
| GROUP TOTAL | 7,146 | -13.8% | +1.4% | +0.1% | +6.5% | |
| Cdiscount GMV2 | 1,006 | +11.8% | +13.0% | n.a. | n.a. |
In first-quarter 2021, the currency effect was -11.4%, changes in scope of consolidation had a negative impact of -2.3%, and the fuel effect came to -0.5%. The calendar effect was -1.1%.
1 Pipeline including GreenYellow's joint ventures
2 Data published by the subsidiaries
3 Data published by GPA, including a positive currency effect due to the appreciation of COP against BRL
4 Announcement of the spin-off on 10 September 2020. Data as of 05 May 2021
5 Excluding fuel and calendar effects

| Q4 2020/Q4 2019 change | Q1 2021/Q1 2020 change | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales by banner (in €m) |
Q4 2020 net sales |
Total growth |
Organic growth1 |
Same-store growth1 |
Q1 2021 net sales |
Total growth |
Organic growth1 |
Same-store growth1 |
Same-store growth over 2 years1 |
| Monoprix | 1,219 | -1.0% | -0.2% | +1.0% | 1,119 | -3.2% | -2.0% | -3.2% | +0.3% |
| Supermarkets | 727 | -6.2% | 0.0% | +3.3% | 675 | -9.6% | -9.5% | -7.1% | -0.2% |
| o/w Casino Supermarkets2 |
687 | -6.8% | -0.5% | +3.3% | 640 | -10.1% | -10.0% | -7.6% | -0.7% |
| Franprix | 378 | -2.2% | -2.5% | +0.7% | 366 | -11.2% | -10.3% | -9.1% | +2.4% |
| Convenience & Other3 |
456 | -24.8% | +4.1% | +5.6% | 415 | -33.4% | -6.7% | -7.2% | +1.7% |
| o/w Convenience4 | 315 | +6.1% | +5.4% | +5.8% | 316 | -5.9% | -4.8% | -7.2% | +3.5% |
| Hypermarkets | 959 | -17.6% | -8.6% | -6.8% | 814 | -14.2% | -11.2% | -9.3% | -7.8% |
| o/w Géant2 | 903 | -18.7% | -9.5% | -7.2% | 765 | -15.0% | -12.0% | -9.7% | -8.3% |
| o/w Food | 652 | -9.4% | n.a. | -5.3% | 537 | -15.0% | n.a. | -10.1% | -7.5% |
| o/w Non-food | 107 | -32.1% | n.a. | -18.6% | 83 | -14.4% | n.a. | -8.7% | -16.1% |
| FRANCE RETAIL | 3,739 | -10.2% | -1.9% | +0.1% | 3,388 | -12.8% | -7.3% | -6.4% | -1.0% |
First-quarter sales in the France Retail segment came to €3,388m, a same-store change of -1.0% versus Q1 2019 and of -6.4% versus Q1 2020 due to exceptionally high sales last year during the first lockdown. Momentum remained very strong in food E-commerce, with +38% same-store growth in net sales for the quarter, following +43% growth in Q1 2020. O'logistique deliveries (Monoprix Plus and Casino Plus) increased by +40% versus Q4 2020, and by +166% versus Q3 2020. During the first quarter of 2021, the Géant Casino and Casino Supermarkets banners adopted a single website and a competitive, unified pricing policy5 , setting up 400 pedestrian pick-up points in stores, with 290 of them also providing a home delivery service. The Group also signed a partnership agreement with Uber Eats, with services to be rolled out to around 500 stores by autumn 2021.
The digitalisation of the customer experience continued over the quarter, with 558 stores now offering automated solutions (versus 533 at end-2020), enabling them to operate autonomously in the evening and on Sundays. 63% of payments at Géant hypermarkets and 53% at Casino Supermarkets were made by smartphone or automatic checkout (versus 61% and 48% at end-2020). CasinoMax app users accounted for 24% of sales in hypermarkets and supermarkets in the first quarter (versus 22% at end-2020).
Net sales at Monoprix were up slightly versus Q1 2019 (down -3.2% year-on-year) in a Parisian market in decline versus 2019 due to the temporary reduction in tourism and Parisians' migration to other regions as health measures were tightened. E-commerce grew significantly in Q1 2021, driven by the ramp-up of Monoprix Plus via the O'logistique automated warehouse now offering more than 28,000 items (versus an average market offering of 15,000). In early April, the banner opened its first Cliquez&Retirez service (Monoprix Plus pedestrian Drive solution provided by O'logistique). After Paris, Nice, Lyon and Bordeaux, the partnership with Amazon was extended to Montpellier. Naturalia became France's first food retailer to be awarded Benefit Corporation (B Corp) international certification, which attests to the banner's firm commitment to social and environmental responsibility, the quality of its governance and its transparency with regard to its customers. Monoprix was also named Top Employer 2021 for the excellence of its HR practices. During the quarter, Monoprix continued to expand its store network, with 10 store openings (Monop' and Naturalia) as well as the roll-out of autonomous solutions (204 stores to date, with 25 new deployments in Q1).
1 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
2 Excluding Codim stores in Corsica: 8 supermarkets and 4 hypermarkets
3 Other: mainly Vindémia, Geimex and Restaurants
4 Convenience segment net sales on a same-store basis include the same-store performance of franchised stores
5 Excluding the Île-de-France region and Corsica


In Q1 2021, Cdiscount reported very strong momentum in the marketplace, with GMV up +34% over the quarter, and revenues (commissions and services to vendors) up +43%.
The banner continued its profitable growth strategy, based on four priority areas:
| Key figures1 | Q1 2020 |
Q1 2021 |
Reported growth1 |
Organic growth2 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GMV total including tax3 | 900 | 1,006 | +11.8% | +13.0% | |
| o/w direct sales | 455 | 455 | - | ||
| o/w marketplace sales | 283 | 381 | +34.3% | ||
| Marketplace contribution (%) | 38.4% | 45.6% | +7.2 pts |
||
| Marketplace revenues | 34 | 49 | +42.9% | ||
| Net sales (€m) | 493 | 518 | +5.0% | +6.7% | |
| Traffic (millions of visits) | 247 | 294 | +18.9% | ||
| Orders (millions) | 6.3 | 7.4 | +16.9% | ||
| Active customers (in millions) | 9.1 | 10.5 | +14.7% |
Cnova published its Q1 2021 sales figures on 6 May 2021, before market opening.
1 Unaudited data published by Cnova NV. The reported figures present all revenues generated by Cdiscount, including its technical goods sales in the Casino Group's hypermarkets and supermarkets
2 Organic growth: the figures include showroom sales and services but exclude sales of technical goods and home category sales made in Casino Group hypermarkets and supermarkets
3 Gross merchandise volume (GMV) includes sales of merchandise, other revenues and the marketplace's sales volume based on confirmed and shipped orders, including tax, and the sales volume of services

GreenYellow continued its development in France and internationally with:
In addition, with its B2C business through its Cdiscount Energie brand, GreenYellow topped 190,000 individual customers in France in Q1 2021.
In the first quarter, GreenYellow recorded a growth of its pipeline1 , rising to 720 MWp including 200 MWp under construction (versus 565 MWp at end-2020), with an additional prospective pipeline of more than 2.5 GWp. The project pipeline for the energy efficiency business represents 355 GWh in annual savings, with an additional prospective pipeline of more than 600 GWh in savings.
RelevanC posted revenue growth led by the excellent performance of the Retail Media business (activities with advertisers) which increased by +50%.
During the quarter, RelevanC put in place a number of drivers to accelerate its growth, notably:
1 Pipeline including GreenYellow's joint ventures

Sales in Latin America (Assaí, Multivarejo and Éxito Group) rose by +4.0% on a same-store basis and by +8.4% on an organic basis during the quarter, despite the high comparison base in March and the tightening of health measures due to the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic in the region.
The reported EBITDA of Assaí and GPA (including Éxito Group) was up +32%1 , from BRL 1.2bn to BRL 1.6bn.
Assaí and Éxito Group published their Q1 2021 results on 4 May 2021, and GPA on 5 May 2021.
1 Data published by the subsidiaries.
2 Excluding fuel and drugstores
3 Data published by GPA
4 Data published by GPA, including a positive currency effect due to the appreciation of COP against BRL

See press release dated 21 November 2019.
| In €m | France (France Retail + E-commerce) |
Latam | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 2020 |
Q1 2021 |
Change | Q1 20201 |
Q1 2021 |
Change | Q1 20201 |
Q1 2021 |
Change | |
| Net sales1 | 4,338 | 3,871 | -467 | 3,955 | 3,275 | -680 | 8,294 | 7,146 | -1,148 |
| EBITDA1,2 | 172 | 204 | +32 | 235 | 225 | -10 | 407 | 429 | +22 |
| (-) impact of leases3 | (164) | (164) | 0 | (89) | (76) | +13 | (253) | (240) | +12 |
| Adjusted consolidated EBITDA including leases1,2 |
9 | 40 | +32 | 146 | 149 | +3 | 155 | 189 | +34 |
In France, EBITDA after lease payments rose by +372% over the quarter. This +€32m increase primarily includes: (i) the impact of transformation plans launched in 2020 (around +€30m), (ii) the volume effect relating to the fall in net sales following the stockpiling behaviour of consumers in Q1 2020, net of health crisis costs, (iii) additional savings on variable costs and (iv) the increased profitability of Cdiscount. In Latin America, EBITDA after lease payments increased by +29% at constant exchange rates, driven by Brazil and Colombia. For more information, see the press releases published by Assaí, GPA and Éxito Group.
The Group's EBITDA after lease payments increased by +€34m over the quarter.
| In €m | France (France Retail + E-commerce) |
Latam | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net sales1 | 16,788 | 13,976 | 30,765 |
| EBITDA1 | 1,612 | 1,151 | 2,764 |
| (-) impact of leases3 | (634) | (265) | (900) |
| (i) Adjusted consolidated EBITDA including leases1,4 |
978 | 886 | 1,864 |
| (ii) Gross debt1,5 | 5,444 | 2,386 | 7,830 |
| (iii) Cash and cash equivalents1,6 | 464 | 987 | 1,451 |
5 Loans and borrowings as of 31 March 2021
1 Unaudited data, scope as defined in refinancing documentation with mainly Segisor accounted for within the France Retail + E-commerce scope
2 First-quarter 2020 EBITDA was adjusted at the close of first-half 2020, in accordance with the AMF recommendation to recognise the costs related to the health crisis in trading profit
3 Interest paid on lease liabilities and repayment of lease liabilities as defined in the refinancing documentation
4 EBITDA after lease payments (i.e. repayments of principal and interest on lease liabilities)
6 At 31 March 2021

Adjusted consolidated EBITDA over the rolling 12-month period ended 31 March 2021 came out at €978m in France. The Group's liquidity in France was €2.4bn, comprising €464m in cash and cash equivalents and €1.93bn in undrawn confirmed lines of credit, available at any time.
| Type of covenant (France and E-commerce) | At 31 March 2021 |
|---|---|
| Gross debt3 /adjusted EBITDA4 <6.50x5 |
5.57x |
| Adjusted EBITDA4 /Net finance costs >2.25x |
3.50x |
The Group comfortably complied with the covenant for gross debt/adjusted EBITDA, with a gross debt margin of €912m.
The segregated account balance stood at €457m at 31 March 2021 (versus €487m at end-December 2020), reflecting a €30m decrease following bond buybacks carried out on the markets. No cash has been credited to or debited from the Bond Segregated Account and its balance remained at €0.
The Group continued to strengthen its financial structure with the €1.225bn refinancing of the Term Loan B maturing in January 2024 with (i) a new Term Loan B maturing in August 2025 for €1bn with an interest rate of Euribor + 4.0% (down -27% from the previous Term Loan B interest rate of Euribor + 5.5%) and (ii) a new unsecured debt instrument maturing in April 2027 for €525m. The excess of €300m will be used to refinance debt in the future.
1 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
2 Net debt calculated on the scopes defined in the refinancing documentation, with mainly Segisor accounted for within the France + E-commerce scope 3 Loans and borrowings
4 Adjusted EBITDA as defined in the refinancing documentation is restated for repayments of lease liabilities and interest paid on lease liabilities
5 6.50x at 31 March 2021, 6.00x at 30 June 2021 and 30 September 2021, and 4.75x as from 31 December 2021

| AVERAGE EXCHANGE RATES | Q1 2020 | Q1 2021 | Currency effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil (EUR/BRL) | 4.9167 | 6.5955 | -25.5% |
| Colombia (EUR/COP) (x 1000) | 3.9141 | 4.2860 | -8.7% |
| Uruguay (EUR/UYP) | 43.5930 | 51.9487 | -16.1% |
| Argentina1 (EUR/ARS) |
70.6839 | 107.5688 | -34.3% |
| TOTAL ESTIMATED GROSS FOOD SALES UNDER BANNER (in €m, excluding fuel) |
Q1 2021 | Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) |
Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) over 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monoprix | 1,149 | -3.2% | +0.3% |
| Franprix | 431 | -9.9% | +1.1% |
| Supermarkets | 636 | -7.1% | +0.7% |
| Hypermarkets | 653 | -6.7% | -3.1% |
| Convenience & Other | 536 | -7.2% | +1.7% |
| o/w Convenience | 394 | -7.3% | +3.1% |
| TOTAL FOOD | 3,405 | -6.2% | +0.4% |
| TOTAL ESTIMATED GROSS NON-FOOD SALES UNDER BANNER (In €m, excluding fuel) |
Q1 2021 | Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) |
Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) over 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hypermarkets | 103 | -19.5% | -25.5% |
| Cdiscount | 814 | +14.0% | +14.0% |
| TOTAL NON-FOOD | 916 | +10.0% | +9.1% |
| TOTAL GROSS SALES UNDER BANNER (in €m, excluding fuel) |
Q1 2021 |
Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) |
Same-store change (excl. calendar effects) over 2 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOTAL FRANCE AND CDISCOUNT | 4,321 | -2.6% | +2.6% |
1 Pursuant to the application of IAS 29, the exchange rate used to convert the Argentina figures corresponds to the rate at the reporting date

| FRANCE | 30 June 2020 | 30 Sept. 2020 | 31 Dec. 2020 | 31 March 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Géant Casino hypermarkets | 104 | 105 | 105 | 104 |
| o/w French franchised affiliates | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| International affiliates | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| Casino Supermarkets | 415 | 414 | 419 | 417 |
| o/w French franchised affiliates | 69 | 68 | 71 | 68 |
| International affiliates | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| Monoprix | 789 | 791 | 799 | 806 |
| o/w franchised affiliates | 190 | 191 | 192 | 195 |
| Naturalia integrated stores | 181 | 181 | 184 | 189 |
| Naturalia franchises | 26 | 28 | 32 | 34 |
| Franprix | 869 | 869 | 872 | 877 |
| o/w franchises | 481 | 463 | 479 | 493 |
| Convenience | 5,134 | 5,166 | 5,206 | 5,311 |
| Other businesses | 219 | 219 | 233 | 203 |
| Indian Ocean region | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total France | 7,530 | 7,564 | 7,634 | 7,718 |
| INTERNATIONAL | 30 June 2020 | 30 Sept. 2020 | 31 Dec. 2020 | 31 March 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARGENTINA | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 |
| Libertad hypermarkets | 15 | 15 | 15 | 15 |
| Mini Libertad and Petit Libertad mini | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| supermarkets | ||||
| URUGUAY | 93 | 92 | 93 | 93 |
| Géant hypermarkets | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Disco supermarkets | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Devoto supermarkets | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Devoto Express mini-supermarkets | 36 | 35 | 35 | 35 |
| Möte | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| BRAZIL | 1,070 | 1,054 | 1,057 | 1,058 |
| Extra hypermarkets | 107 | 104 | 103 | 103 |
| Pão de Açúcar supermarkets | 182 | 182 | 182 | 182 |
| Extra supermarkets | 151 | 147 | 147 | 147 |
| Compre Bem | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Assaí (cash & carry) | 169 | 176 | 184 | 184 |
| Mini Mercado Extra & Minuto Pão de | 238 | 239 | 236 | 237 |
| Açúcar mini-supermarkets | ||||
| Drugstores | 122 | 104 | 103 | 103 |
| + Service stations | 73 | 74 | 74 | 74 |
| COLOMBIA | 1,981 | 1,980 | 1,983 | 1,974 |
| Éxito hypermarkets | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| Éxito and Carulla supermarkets | 157 | 154 | 153 | 153 |
| Super Inter supermarkets | 69 | 69 | 69 | 61 |
| Surtimax (discount) | 1,536 | 1,539 | 1,544 | 1,548 |
| o/w "Aliados" | 1,459 | 1,465 | 1,470 | 1,476 |
| B2B | 32 | 34 | 34 | 34 |
| Éxito Express and Carulla Express mini supermarkets |
95 | 92 | 91 | 86 |
| CAMEROON | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Cash & carry | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Total International | 3,170 | 3,153 | 3,160 | 3,152 |

Lionel Benchimol
[email protected] or IR\[email protected]
Casino Group – Communications Department
Stéphanie Abadie
or
-
Karine Allouis
[email protected] Franck Pasquier
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.
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