Shares in retailer Carrefour slump after profit warning

PARIS

Shares in Carrefour slumped on Aug. 31 after the world’s second-largest retailer warned 2017 operating profit could fall by around 12 percent.

Carrefour shares were down by around 10 percent in early trading, while Carrefour’s French rival Casino also lost ground.

Late on Aug. 30, the French supermarket retailer posted a steeper-than-expected fall in first-half earnings and cut its sales growth target.

“Our 2017 results will be impacted by our first-half performance and an operating environment that will remain difficult in the second half in some countries,” said Carrefour’s new chief executive Alexandre Bompard.

In the six months to June, Carrefour booked a bottom-line net profit of 78 million euros, down 39.5 percent on the year, and underlying or operating profit fell by 12.5 percent to 621 million euros.

First-half sales, by contrast, grew by 6.2 percent to 43.05 billion euros.

JP Morgan cut its rating on Carrefour to “neutral” from “overweight”, while analysts at Jefferies also downgraded the stock to “hold” from “buy.”

Carrefour operates supermarkets in Turkey with its local partner Sabancı Holding.

The joint venture generated sales revenue of 4.5 million Turkish Liras in 2016 from a store network of 37 hypermarkets and 392 supermarkets, 25 gourmet and 202 mini markets across the country.