Paris, France--(Marketwire - October 16, 2007) -
October 16th 2007
THIRD QUARTER 2007 SALES
Group sales + 5.5% on constant exchange rates, +5.8% on current exchange rates
- Progressively less deflation in France in a very competitive market
- Carrefour hypermarkets continued to grow market share in the Quarter
thanks to our consistent and determined pricing strategy
- Food price deflation eased progressively over the period as a result of
raw material price increases which have been passed on by suppliers
- Overall, sales growth was impacted by a strong negative calendar impact
in the period (-2%), the impact of a poor summer on apparel and other
seasonal items, and our decision to stop selling petrol at a loss to our
franchisees (-1.2%)
- Growth in Europe driven by robust performance in Spain
- Like for likes in Spanish hypermarkets were driven by strong performance
in food and consumer electronics
- Our multi format, single brand, strategy in Spain, delivered close to
double digit like for like sales in supermarkets, annualising double
digit growth in 2006
- Major efforts are underway to remedy weak sales trends in Belgium and
Italy
- Continued strong trends in Growth markets*
- Growth markets grew sales overall by around 30%
- We have successfully integrated new acquisitions in Brazil and Poland
- Further acceleration of new m2 to turn the virtuous circle faster
- 12% more new space opened in Q3 2007 than in Q3 2006, of which 80% were
opened in Growth markets
- Tactical acquisitions accounted for 3% to the total growth
- Confirmation of guidance for the year
- Sales growth on constant exchange rates faster than in 2006
- Activity Contribution will grow, but at a slower pace than sales
THIRD QUARTER 2007 9 MONTHS 2007
Sales Like Expan-sion Total Currencies Total Sales Like Expan-sion Total Currencies Total
for Ex. for Ex.
like Currency like Currency
(mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
FRANCE 10 404 -2.4 0.4 -2.0 0.0 -2.0 30 659 -0.9 0.8 -0.1 0.0 -0.1
EUROPE ex Fce 8 558 -0.5 4.7 4.2 0.9 5.1 24 695 0.9 4.8 5.7 0.2 5.9
LATIN AMERICA 2 605 12.3 37.0 49.3 3.5 52.8 6 754 9.7 23.4 33.1 -0.3 32.8
ASIA 1 542 3.6 13.0 16.6 -4.1 12.5 4 591 2.8 16.3 19.1 -5.3 13.8
TOTAL 23 109 -0.1 5.6 5.5 0.3 5.8 66 699 0.9 5.1 6.0 -0.3 5.7
TOTAL 6.4 6.9
ex-petrol
* Activities outside France, Spain, Belgium and Italy
FRANCE
THIRD QUARTER 2007 9 MONTHS 2007
Sales Like for Expansion Total Like for Expansion Total
like Sales like
(mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (mEUR) (%) (%) (%)
FRANCE 10 404 -2.4 0.4 -2.0 30 659 -0.9 0.8 -0.1
Hypermarkets 5 560 -1.5 0.8 -0.7 16 367 0.0 1.6 1.6
Supermarkets 2 250 -0.3 -0.3 -0.6 6 697 0.4 1.1 1.5
Hard discount 676 -2.8 4.0 1.2 2 107 -1.1 4.4 3.3
Other activities 1 918 -7.1 -1.0 -8.1 5 488 -5.2 -2.4 -7.6
Sales in France fell by 2% in the quarter (-1% ex petrol) in a market
characterised by tough competition and signs that deflation is easing.
Like for like sales in French hypermarkets fell by 1.5% including petrol and by
1.6% ex petrol.
This takes into account three factors:
- A negative calendar impact over the quarter of 2.0%.
- The impact of bad summer weather - particularly in the month of July,
which affected sales of apparel and other seasonal items.
- The timing of our October anniversary promotion in our hypermarkets.
This year the promotion began the 3rd October compared to the 25th September
in 2006. This difference in timing had an impact of approximately -1.6% for
non-food.
Customer traffic fell by 3.2%, mainly because of the calendar effect. Average
basket, on the other hand, increased by 1.7%.
Food like for like sales were down 0.8%. Dry grocery deflation eased
progressively from July to September to average -0.5% for the quarter. This
compares to food price deflation of 1.2% in the Second Quarter and 1.9% in the
First Quarter. Adjusted for the calendar effect, food volumes were positive.
Non-food like-for like sales fell 3.4% in the quarter. Adjusting for the
calendar effect, and the timing of the October promotion, sales trends were
positive, in line with those of the Second Quarter.
Customer reception of our new non-food model continues to be positive, with
remodelled stores again outperforming the chain average by 4 to 5%. At the end
of September, 22 stores had adopted this model.
Supermarket like for like sales were down 0.3% in the quarter (-0.6% ex-petrol).
Like for like sales were positive, adjusting for the calendar impact. This
performance is underpinned by an increase in average basket.
Sales in Hard discount increased 1.2% in the quarter (-2.8% on a like for like
basis). Convenience stores saw comparable sales decline by 2.1%.
The decline in sales of other activities continues to reflect our decision to
stop sales of unprofitable wholesale petrol to our franchisees (which led to a
32% decline in petrol sales equivalent to €125m), and the transfer of PromoCash
stores from our integrated to franchisee network.
EUROPE (ex. France)
THIRD QUARTER 2007 9 MONTHS 2007
Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total
for Ex. for
like Currency like Ex.
Currency
(mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
EUROPE ex Fce 8 558 -0.5 4.7 4.2 0.9 5.1 24 695 0.9 4.8 5.7 0.2 5.9
Spain Total 3 646 1.2 1.3 2.5 0.0 2.5 10 359 2.8 1.9 4.7 0.0 4.7
Hypermarkets 2 411 0.9 1.7 2.6 0.0 2.6 6 785 2.3 2.5 4.8 0.0 4.8
Supermarkets 190 9.6 2.0 11.6 0.0 11.6 509 16.6 -0.9 15.7 0.0 15.7
Hard discount 782 0.2 0.5 0.7 0.0 0.7 2 349 1.4 1.4 2.8 0.0 2.8
Other 263 5.5 -5.1 0.4 0.0 0.4 716 7.0 -4.9 2.1 0.0 2.1
activities
Italy Total 1 704 -3.4 1.4 -2.0 0.0 -2.0 5 209 -1.9 2.9 1.0 0.0 1.0
Hypermarkets 729 -3.6 2.3 -1.3 0.0 -1.3 2 168 -2.2 3.3 1.1 0.0 1.1
Supermarkets 498 -2.7 0.9 -1.8 0.0 -1.8 1 578 -1.9 2.5 0.6 0.0 0.6
Other 477 -3.7 0.3 -3.4 0.0 -3.4 1 463 -1.4 2.7 1.3 0.0 1.3
activities
Belgium Total 1 141 -5.1 0.7 -4.4 0.0 -4.4 3 490 -1.9 1.4 -0.5 0.0 -0.5
Hypermarkets 568 -4.1 0.0 -4.1 0.0 -4.1 1 726 -1.6 0.0 -1.6 0.0 -1.6
Supermarkets 245 -8.3 0.1 -8.2 0.0 -8.2 777 -3.2 0.0 -3.2 0.0 -3.2
Other 328 -4.2 2.5 -1.7 0.0 -1.7 987 -1.2 5.0 3.8 0.0 3.8
activities
Other Europe 2 067 2.6 18.3 20.9 4.4 25.3 5 637 2.5 15.1 17.6 1.2 18.8
Sales in Europe ex-France increased by 4.2% on constant exchange rates. Like for
like sales fell slightly, down 0.5%. Again, this takes into account a negative
calendar effect in the quarter of around 2%.
Spain recorded robust sales trends with like for like growth of 1.2%. Adjusting
for a negative calendar effect of 2%, this represented an acceleration of growth
versus the First Half.
Like for likes in Spanish hypermarkets were driven by a strong performance in
food and consumer electronics, which compensated for the adverse impact of the
poor summer weather on apparel and other seasonal items.
Carrefour Express again performed particularly well with like for likes up 9.6%,
annualising double digit like for like increases in 2006.
Sales fell in both Belgium and Italy by 4.4% and 2.0% respectively.
In Belgium, like for like sales were impacted by strong market share gains by
hard discount competitors. This was particularly the case for our supermarkets.
In Italy like for like sales trended in line with the First Half when adjusting
for the calendar effect.
In both these markets, we are taking radical action to remedy unacceptable sales
trends which involves divesting structurally loss making stores while
significantly upgrading the operation model through price investment,
remodelling and simplification of brands.
Greece, Turkey and Romania continued to perform well, with sales growth on
constant exchange rates of 7.6%, 14.8% and 36.0% respectively. Sales in Poland
grew by nearly 54%, boosted by three months' contribution from the integration
of Ahold Polska.
LATIN AMERICA
THIRD QUARTER 2007 9 MONTHS 2007
Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total
for Ex. for Ex.
like Currency like Currency
(mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
LATIN AMERICA 2 605 12.3 37.0 49.3 3.5 52.8 6 754 9.7 23.4 33.1 -0.3 32.8
Brazil Total 1 824 4.3 52.8 57.1 7.9 65.0 4 564 3.2 31.9 35.1 1.8 36.9
Argentina 530 36.8 4.7 41.5 -12.5 29.0 1 457 29.3 4.3 33.6 -11.5 22.1
Total
Colombia 251 5.6 14.9 20.5 12.8 33.3 733 7.1 17.3 24.4 6.7 31.1
Total
Sales in Latin America increased strongly, up 49.3% on constant exchange rates.
Like for like sales growth in the region accelerated versus the First Half.
Sales were driven by both strong organic and like for likes sales growth.
The consolidation of Atacadao in Brazil at the beginning of May 2007 contributed
around 28% to growth from the region.
In Brazil, total sales increased 57.1% on constant exchange rates, of which 4.3%
on a like for like basis. Hypermarkets grew like for like sales by 2,3%.
In Argentina all three formats collectively recorded like for like sales growth
of nearly 37%.
Colombia showed good growth with like for like sales up 5.6%. With new m(2)
accounting for nearly 15% growth, overall sales in the country on constant
exchange rates increased by 20.5%.
ASIA
THIRD QUARTER 2007 9 MONTHS 2007
Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total Sales Like Expansion Total Currencies Total
for Ex. for Ex.
like Currency like Currency
(mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%) (mEUR) (%) (%) (%) (%) (%)
ASIA 1 542 3.6 13.0 16.6 -4.1 12.5 4 591 2.8 16.3 19.1 -5.3 13.8
China Total 723 9.6 16.3 25.9 -2.9 23.0 2 238 8.0 17.7 25.7 -4.3 21.4
Taiwan Total 384 -1.4 8.8 7.4 -8.1 -0.7 1 093 -3.7 16.2 12.5 -9.9 2.6
Indonesia 203 2.2 14.9 17.1 -10.0 7.1 568 2.2 20.5 22.7 -8.4 14.4
Total
Other 232 -2.8 9.7 6.9 5.6 12.5 692 -1.2 8.9 7.7 2.5 10.2
countries
Sales overall in Asia increased by 16.6% on constant exchange rates or 12.5% on
current exchange rates. Like for like sales in the region were up 3.6% (versus
1.6% in Q2) while new m(2) contributed growth of 13%.
As with Latin America, sales trends accelerated versus the First Half.
China recorded strong like for likes of 9.6%. Food sales were particularly
strong. New m(2) contributed 16.3% to total sales growth of 25.9%. 11 stores
have been opened in China so far this year.
Like for like sales trends in Taiwan continued to improve, with a decline of
1.4% versus -5.1% in the First Half. Like for like sales in food were positive.
There was less cannibalisation of existing stores than in previous quarters and
the trend in customer traffic improved as a result.
Indonesia grew like for like sales by 2.2% in line with the performance of the
First Half. Average basket and traffic were up, mainly driven by strong volumes
in food.
Sales in Thailand and Malaysia increased by 2.5% and 20.6% respectively at
constant exchange rates, driven primarily by expansion.
EXPANSION
Overall, in Q3, we opened or acquired 385 new stores under banner accounting for
370,000 m(2) of new space.
In France, we opened 40,000 m(2), of which extensions of existing hypermarkets
accounted for 14,000 m(2), supermarkets 14,000 m(2), hard discount 10,000 m(2)
and convenience stores 2,000 m(2). 3 supermarkets, 9 hard discount stores and 6
convenience stores were opened or acquired in the period.
In Europe outside France, we opened or acquired 22 new hypermarkets, 211
supermarkets, 67 hard discount stores, and 24 convenience stores. In total, we
opened or acquired 267,000 additional m(2).
In Latin America, 4 hypermarkets, 2 supermarket and 20 hard discount stores were
opened or acquired in the quarter, accounting for 29,000 new m(2), while in Asia
5 hypermarkets and 7 hard discount stores were opened, representing an
additional 34,000 m(2).
- NETWORK OF STORES UNDER BANNERS - Q3 2007
Disposals/
June 2007 Openings Additions Transfers Sept 2007
HYPERMARKETS 1 078 15 16 -1 1 108
France 218 218
Europe ex Fce 403 6 16 1 426
Latin America 237 4 -2 239
Asia 220 5 225
SUPERMARKETS 2 458 27 189 -15 2 659
France 1 016 2 1 -3 1 016
Europe ex Fce 1 314 23 188 -12 1 513
Latin America 128 2 130
HARD DISCOUNT 5 858 103 -54 5 907
France 869 9 1 879
Europe ex Fce 4 069 67 -46 4 090
Latin America 651 20 -6 665
Asia 269 7 -3 273
CONVENIENCE STORES 3 151 34 1 577* -14 4 748
France 1 653 5 1577* -6 3 229
Europe ex Fce 1 498 24 -8 1 514
Latin America 0 5 5
CASH AND CARRY 154 154
France 134 134
Europe ex Fce 20 20
TOTAL COUNTRIES 12 699 179 1 782 -84 14 576
Total France 3 890 16 1 578* -8 5 476
Total Europe ex Fce 7 304 120 204 -65 7 563
Total Americas 1 016 31 -8 1 039
Total Asia 489 12 -3 498
* including concession stores (Sherpa and Proxi) which account for 1,576 stores
Investor relations: Alessandra Girolami. Etienne Humbert Tel : (33) 01 55 63 39 00
Shareholders information: Celine Blandineau No vert : 0805 902 902
Press relations: TBWA Corporate Tel : (33) 01 49 09 26 66
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange