news/AMZN/2023.03.01/Casino to step up promotions as cost of living crisis weighs on French sales.txt

*Q4 group same-store sales up 4.4% vs up 5.4% in Q3*Q4 French same-store sales up 0.1%, hypermarkets down 6.2%*Shares down 2.5%PARIS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - French retailer Casino
vowed on Tuesday to spend more on promotions this
quarter to help cash-strapped shoppers after sales at its Geant
hypermarkets in France fell sharply in the fourth quarter of
2022 amid competitive pressure.Overall group sales growth slowed in the fourth quarter
despite a robust performance in Latin America, and shares in
Casino, whose domestic rivals include Carrefour and
unlisted Leclerc, fell 2.5%.The performance in France will be closely watched after
Casino and Teract earlier this month said they were
in preliminary talks to combine their retail activities there
within an entity controlled by Casino.The company, which has been facing concerns over high debt
and low cash flow, is scheduled on March 10 to report its
full-year earnings, having said previously it was aiming for a
good level of profit and improved cash flow generation.That outlook was not included in Tuesday's press release.Casino, which also controls Brazil's Grupo Pao de Acucar
, said group fourth quarter sales reached 9.16 billion
euros ($9.7 billion), up 4.4% on a same store basis, but slower
than the 5.4% growth reported in the third quarter.FRENCH SALES BELOW ESTIMATESIn France, sales rose just 0.1% on a same store basis after
rising 3.9% in the third quarter. That was below consensus
expectations, which Jefferies analysts said stood at 2.7%."Full results will be reported on March 10 and will provide
more insights into how this is impacting the precarious leverage
position," Jefferies added.Sales at French hypermarkets fell 6.2% on a same store basis
and by 4% at French supermarkets, while sales at convenience
stores rose 4.5%.Casino is banking on an expansion of city centre convenience
stores and e-commerce, notably home delivery via partnerships
with Ocado and Amazon, to boost sales.The group said it opened 352 new convenience shops during
the quarter and 879 new stores over the year, exceeding its
target of 800 openings.($1 = 0.9447 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon;
Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Mark Potter)