PARIS (Reuters) – Cash-strapped retailer Casino posted a group operating loss of 233 million euros ($258.5 million) in the first half of 2023, as falling sales and price cuts at its hypermarkets and supermarkets hit its core French operations.
Casino is in talks with Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky over a plan to inject 1.2 billion euros of new money into the distressed French retailer, and it is still discussing a plan with creditors to restructure its debt pile to avoid bankruptcy.
The French retailer said earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) was a loss of 233 million euros against a profit of 166 million euros in the first half of 2022, with its operations in France posting a loss of 299 million euros.
Group net debt at end June-2023 was 6.1 billion euros against 6.0 billion at end June 2022.
($1 = 0.9013 euros)
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon)
