In France, Groupe Casino has reported on a stable first half of the year (H1), with net profit increasing slightly from €229m in 2008 to €231m.
The retailer announced that year-on-year operating profit through the first six months fell 9.1 per cent to €488m, with earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation down 5 per cent to €819m.
'In a challenging economic environment in the first half, the Group delivered results in line with its business plan,' said Casino chairman and CEO Jean-Charles Naouri. 'These results demonstrate the robustness of our business model and the effectiveness of the action plans deployed by Casino's teams, both on the marketing and financial sides.
'In France, the group's positioning, heavily weighed towards the convenience and discount formats, represents a solid earnings base, while in international markets our leadership positions in Latin America and southeast Asia constitute major growth drivers,' he added. 'In this context, we are speeding up implementation of our strategy and are confident of meeting our targets.'
