Casino Group reports tumultuous year with heavy financial loss amid restructuring push

Casino Group wrapped up 2024 with a net loss of €295 million, capping off a year of aggressive restructuring, large-scale asset sales, and a full pivot toward convenience retail.

On the face of it, this seems like it is significantly in the red, it is nowhere near the lows of 2023 which equalled a €5.66 billion loss.

The company, now under the control of a consortium led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, has been rapidly dismantling its hypermarket and supermarket footprint.

In 2024 alone, Casino offloaded a whopping 366 large-format stores while also shutting down 768 underperforming outlets, moving focus to smaller convenience concepts like Franprix, Monoprix, and Naturalia.

On the operational side, Casino reported €8.5 billion in consolidated net sales, down 2.6% on a same-store basis and 5.4% overall.

Adjusted EBITDA dropped nearly 25% to €576 million, which showcases the impact of the group’s new strategy, which involves overhauling pricing, product ranges, and store formats.

Looking to the future, the group’s Renouveau 2028 plan, which rolled out late last year, aims to rebuild Casino around a leaner, convenience-first model.

That includes launching new store formats like Franprix’s “Oxygène” and Naturalia’s “La Ferme” as well as reducing franchise fees to attract more competitive partners.

In fact, 266 new stores were opened in 2024, while 95 were converted into franchise or lease models.

Casino has also entered the Aura Retail buying alliance alongside Intermarché and Auchan to strengthen its purchasing power, potentially critical for competing with France’s dominant food retail players.

“We’ve made difficult but necessary choices,” said CEO Philippe Palazzi. “Yes, they hurt short-term sales, but these actions are designed to save the group and lay the groundwork for long-term growth.”

Despite progress on the restructuring front, Casino’s financials definitely show the scars of recent years.

The company’s stock dropped over 12% following the earnings release, hitting €0.68 per share, its lowest level on record according to LSEG data. The share price is now down 38% year-to-date.

Still, Palazzi pointed to signs of recovery. Liquidity now stands at €1.5 billion, and the company expects to break even on free cash flow by 2026.

He noted that key metrics like customer traffic and store performance in the streamlined network are already showing modest improvement.

Palazzi ended on an optimistic note during the earnings call: “The best days of Casino are ahead of us. We’ve laid the foundation, now it’s about executing with discipline and focus.”

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