2010 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT (3.4 Mo) - Groupe Casino

31 DECEMBER 2010Business Review22.1. BUSINESS REVIEW■■The Group achieved in 2010 the sales targets set at the beginningof the year and the financial targets set at the beginning of 2009for the period 2009-2010.In France, sales momentum accelerated thanks to an improvementin price competitiveness at Géant and Leader Price and stepped-upexpansion in convenience formats. The Group’s market share roseby 0.2 point at the end of the year. In International operations,organic sales growth (1) accelerated rapidly to reach double digits.Two major acquisitions were made in 2010 and early 2011, whichwill further increase International operations’ contribution to boththe Group’s revenue and trading profit.Casino also met its cost-cutting and inventory turnover-reductiontargets and exceeded its goal of €1 billion in disposals during 2009to 2010. Net debt (2) / EBITDA therefore fell to 1.97x at end-2010,well below the target of 2.2x.Consolidated revenue rose by 8.7% in 2010. The currency effectwas a positive 5.0%, mainly due to the sharp appreciation of theBrazilian real, Colombian peso and Thai baht against the euro duringthe period. Changes in scope of consolidation had a negative impactof 1.0% as the deconsolidation of the Venezuelan operations wasonly partially offset by the consolidation of Ponto Frio and CasasBahia by Grupo Pão de Açucar (GPA).■■■(1)Sales were up 4.7% on an organic basis and 3.9% excludingpetrol, a considerable improvement on the 0.1% decline excludingpetrol recorded in 2009. French and International both contributedto the growth.(1)- In France, sales were up 1.8% on an organic basis (0.6%excluding petrol). This sharp improvement on the 2.7% declineexcluding petrol recorded in 2009 stemmed mainly from a recoveryin Leader Price’s same-store sales, an improvement in Géant’sfood sales and the faster growth enjoyed by the convenienceformats and Cdiscount.(1)- International operations posted 10.8% organic sales growth ,driven by strong momentum in same-store sales and fasterexpansion in South America and Asia, the Group’s two coreinternational regions.Trading profit increased by 7.5% or 2.6% before the reclassificationof the CVAE (3) under income tax, but was down 3.9% on anorganic basis (1) .Trading margin fell by 5 bp to 4.5% and by 38 bp on an organicbasis (1) .- Trading margin in France narrowed by 26 bp and by 55 bp onan organic basis (1) , due mainly to the sales revitalisation plan atLeader Price and Géant.- Trading margin in International increased 29 bp reflecting improvedprofitability in both Asia and South America. It was down 7 bpon an organic basis (1) .2.1.1. FRANCE(62% of consolidated net sales and 59% of consolidated trading profit)€ millions 2009 2010Net salesReportedchangeOrganicchange (1)France 17,664 17,956 +1.7% +1.8%Casino France 11,829 12,016 +1.6% +1.8%Monoprix 1,829 1,914 +4.7% +4.7%Franprix-Leader Price 4,007 4,026 +0.5% +0.5%Trading profitFrance 802 769 -4.1% -10.5%Casino France 439 463 +5.5% -2.3%Monoprix 120 139 +15.6% +8.4%Franprix-Leader Price 243 167 -31.2% -35.0%Trading marginFrance 4.5% 4.3% -26 bp - 55 bpCasino France 3.7% 3.9% +14 bp - 15 bpMonoprix 6.6% 7.3% +69 bp +23 bpFranprix-Leader Price 6.1% 4.1% - 191 bp - 212 bp(1) Based on a comparable scope of consolidation and constant exchange rates, excluding the impact of disposals to OPCI property funds and before reclassifi cation of the CVAEunder income tax (positive impact of €57.1 million).(2) Net debt as defi ned in Note 1.5.29 of the notes to the consolidated fi nancial statements.(3) Starting with the 2010 fi nancial year, the “Cotisation sur la valeur ajoutée des entreprises” (CVAE) is presented under “Income tax”, in accordance with the Group’s position andIAS 12.This reclassifi cation had a positive €59.2 million impact on EBITDA and trading profi t and no impact on net profi t.Registration Document 2010 | Casino Group17