Casino - comment

Casino released just their headline Q4 and FY22 sales numbers, which on the face of them are slightly ahead of our expectations. But without any margin details, it is hard to read too much into the numbers. Away from that, we highlight that Casino continue to expand its store base, primarily via franchises. 879 stores were opened in convenience formats in FY22, greater than the 800-store target, the majority opened via franchise. In the Franprix segment, 181 stores were opened in the year, with 33 new stores opened during the quarter and three new master franchise agreements signed in December. We also note a further roll-out strategy in FY23 in Casino Supermarkets and Hypermarkets, with the arrival in H1’23 of new franchise partners previously affiliated with other networks, and a plan to franchise part of the network.

There is no call, postponed until Full Year numbers are posted on the 10th March.