Casino Moves Away From Hypermarket Format As Sector Continues To Underperform

French retailer Casino has reported a drop in sales and earnings for 2009, affected by weak sales at its domestic hypermarket units. Net sales for the 12 months ending in December declined by 1.2% year-on-year (y-o-y) to EUR26.7bn, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were 3.2% y-o-y lower at EUR1.84bn. On an organic basis (constant scope of consolidation and exchange rates), net sales and EBITDA both declined by 1%. Strong sales growth in emerging markets could not fully offset weaknesses in Casino's domestic market and in response the company said it would continue to push ahead

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