French retailer Casino Q1 sales sequentially improve

PARIS (Reuters) -Casino said on Tuesday that first-quarter comparable sales declined 1.2% to 2 billion euros ($2.28 billion), marking a sequential improvement from a 1.8% decline in the fourth quarter 2024, which the French food retailer said was confirmed by a positive trend since early April.

The owner of the Monoprix, Franprix and Naturalia brands, said adjusted Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation (EBITDA) in the first quarter reached 100 million euros, down 6 million euros from the first quarter 2024.

"In an challenging economic climate, activity remained steady, while the financial performance continued to be impacted by the group's transformation," the statement said.

Now owned by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, Casino has been attempting a turnaround through job cuts, disposals of large loss-making stores and a refocus on inner-city convenience stores such as Monoprix and Franprix.

Casino, France's seventh-largest supermarket group by market share, was brought to the brink of default in 2023 after years of debt-fuelled acquisitions and a declining market share.

In a separate statement, Monoprix and the Zouari family announced plans to franchise in a joint venture 27 Monop' stores in Paris and the Île-de-France region. The project includes a renovation plan for the stores. Jobs will not be affected and will be maintained, they said.

($1 = 0.8770 euros)

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by GV De Clercq)