Carrefour, the world’s second-largest retailer, on Thursday pledged to grow sales and free cash flow this year after posting a steeper than expected fall in 2016 earnings, as profits dropped at its core French market.
Europe’s biggest retailer also said it was ready to float its Carmila property unit and its Brazilian business this year, market conditions permitting.
The French company, which has started looking for a successor to the chairman and chief executive Georges Plassat whose mandate expires in May 2018, also announced it would hold its annual shareholders meeting on June 15.
Carrefour kept its 2016 dividend unchanged at €0.70 per share after recurring operating profit fell 3.8 per cent to €2.35 billion (Dh10.49bn) in 2016, below an average of €2.37bn euros in a Reuters poll.
Accounting for currency exchange rate variations, net sales in Asia fell 7.3 per cent to €6.17bn year on year while in emerging markets they slid 1.3 per cent to €20.68bn. Total sales slipped 0.4 per cent to €76.64bn.
Since taking over as the chief executive in 2012, Mr Plassat has presided over signs of a recovery at Carrefour, which has numerous stores in the UAE but makes 73 per cent of its sales in Europe and around a quarter of sales in France.
He has focused on price cuts along with an expansion into smaller convenience stores, while also renovating its chain of hypermarkets, starting in France.
Yet while Carrefour has made good progress in most European countries and in Brazil, its second-largest market, it has lagged behind on its French hypermarkets.
In France, operating profits fell 13.4 per cent to €1.03bn, with margins down by 40 basis points to 2.9 per cent.
This reflected costs tied to the integration of the loss-making Dia discount stores and increased promotional activity at French hypermarkets amid cut-throat competition in the sector.
“2017 will be the year when Dia results start improving,” said the finance head Pierre-Jean Sivignon.
Elsewhere in Europe, however, operating profits rose 25.7 per cent, driven by a continued recovery in Spain and improved profitability in Italy.
In Latin America, Brazil put in a strong performance in spite of difficult market conditions but China, which makes 5 per cent of sales, was still a loss-making area.
“The second-half was a low-point for China,” Mr Sivignon said.
Carrefour vowed to grow group sales by 3 to 5 per cent this year and increase free cash flow, as it pares back on investments to renovate its stores although it would continue to expand its store network and invest in E-commerce, added Mr Sivignon.
* Reuters
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Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
More Iraq election coverage:
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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1.
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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7.
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Singapore
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8.
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Australia
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9.
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Saudi Arabia
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10.
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South Korea
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