Carrefour Not Out Of The Woods

LONDON -- Is Carrefour a good place to be as France lifts its head out of the recession? The retailer, which is known for its huge "hypermarkets" in out-of-town locations, certainly got the benefit of the doubt from investors on Friday, despite reporting a 66% drop in pretax, preinterest profits in the first half of the year. But even though Carrefour said it was "on track" to deliver full-year targets, slash costs and turn the retailer around in the next three years, the environment may in fact get a lot tougher.The problem is that Carrefour ( CRERF - news - people ) does not exist in a vacuum. Smaller rival Casino Guichard Perrachon ( GGUIF - news - people ) is also cutting costs and prices to entice France's wary shoppers, who have become more discerning after nearly a year of economic contraction. Casino may also benefit from a smaller exposure to mammoth hypermarkets than Carrefour. Large stores are not performing well in an atmosphere of reduced car journeys and reduced spending overall. "The market is not standing still around Carrefour," said Christopher Hogbin, an analyst with San...
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Q2 2009 Carrefour S.A. Earnings Release - Time Not Supplied

Earnings Announcements for Friday, August 28CompanySymbolTimeConferenceCallAdvanced Photonics Tech AGAP8K.FTime Not SuppliedAegis Group plcAGS.LTime Not SuppliedAeroports de ParisADP.PATime Not SuppliedAGA Rangemaster Group PLCAGA.LBefore Market OpenALI CORP3041.TWAfter Market CloseAmoi Electronics Co Ltd600057.SSAfter Market CloseAN HUI WENERGY CO000543.SZTime Not SuppliedANHUI HUAMAO TEXTILE CO000850.SZTime Not SuppliedANHUI TONGDU COPPER CO LTD000630.SZTime Not SuppliedANTICHI PELLETTIERI S P AAP.MITime Not SuppliedANTON OILFIELD SERVICES GROUP3337.HKTime Not SuppliedAP EAGERS LTDAPE.AXTime Not SuppliedAUCKLAND AIRPORTAIA.NZTime Not SuppliedAZKOYEN SAAZK.MCTime Not SuppliedBABCOCK & BROWN POWERBBP.AXTime Not SuppliedBanca Carige SpACRG.MITime Not SuppliedBanca Monte Dei Paschi Di SienaBMPS.MITime Not Suppli...
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Europe Starts Deflating

LONDON -- While inflation in the United States and Britain is slipping, it's seriously sliding in Europe, to the point where economists can add the "negative" sign to the region's latest inflation numbers and label the situation as "deflationary." Eurostat confirmed on Wednesday that consumer prices in the euro zone had moved into deflation territory in June, at -0.1% year-on-year. Prices were pushed down by lower food costs and the ongoing impact of sharply lower energy prices. Another, less direct reason: Banks in Europe are still wary of lending, or at least that's the impression consumers are getting. Data from Germany's ZEW economic think tank on Tuesday showed that the country's economic sentiment gauge unexpectedly fell for the first time since October, due to concerns among Germans about tighter credit conditions. The German export association BGA has warned of a "massive credit squeeze" by late summer while Business Europe, the region's main business lobby, told the European Central Bank that bank lending desperately needs to be improved. The slide in deflation is meanwhile bad news for retail companies struggling to keep pace with consumers' collective expectations of a deflationary environment by rigorously cutting prices. One example is Hennes & Mauritz ( HNNMY - news - people ), the cheap fashion retailer, which on Wednesday ...
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Carrefour May Be Stumbling With Russian Dreams

LONDON -- Could Carrefour’s dreams of Russian expansion be at an end? Negotiations between the French retailer and Russia's Seventh Continent have halted according to reports in the local press. Carrefour isn't commenting on the report. "There are new rumors every day," Carrefour executive director Thierry Garnier told a news conference in Moscow on Thursday. Speculation about a takeover of Seventh Continent kicked off last year, following reports that Carrefour had signed a preliminary letter of intent to buy 75% of the company as it looked to expand in emerging markets. However, neither company has ever officially confirmed a deal was on the table. Just a day before the story in Thursday's Vedomosti newspaper, a local radio station said the deal would be going ahead. (See “Carrefour Wants A Piece Of Russia.”)Garnier did reinforce Carrefour’s broad ambitions, however. "In all countries we are looking at all the opportunities that would let us speed our development," he said. Garnier was attending the opening of Carrefour’s first store in Russia, housed in a newly built shopping mall on the outskirts of the capital.Carrefour is planning to open two more stores in Russia this year, but it really needs an established Russian retailer to help it on its way. "It is not very easy to establish a footprint in Russia," said Mikhail Terentiev, an analyst with Nomura International in Moscow. "If you want to expand in Russia rapidly it would be a good idea to buy somebody else with a very developed market." Fortunately for Carrefour, Seventh Continent is not the only option. There are a lot of middle-sized or small retail chains, with around twenty or thirty stores, that are suffering from financial distress, said Terentiev. "Most big compan...
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Carrefour Faces German Crisis Alone

Europe's big retail chains are under pressure at home. Carrefour ( CRERF - news - people ) saw sales in France drop in the first quarter; Tesco ( TSCDY - news - people ) has reportedly lost market share in Britain to rivals like J Sainsbury ( JSAIY - news - people ); and, on Tuesday, Metro ( MTGAF - news - people ) reported a disappointing first-quarter loss on the back of sluggish sales in the midst of a deep German...
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Carrefour Wants A Piece Of Russia

Seventh Continent might make Carrefour's Russian dreams come true very soon. Carrefour has signed a preliminary letter of intent to buy 75.0% in Seventh Continent and will make a final offer on May 15, according to a Russian newspaper. It signed the agreement with the grocery chain's majority owner, Alexander Zanadvorov, regarding his stake in Seventh Continent and its real estate assets, business daily Kommersant said, citing banking sources. Last February Carrefour reportedly made a non-binding offer to Seventh Continent, valuing the company at $1.25 billion. (See "Carrefour Flirts With Seventh Continent.") According to the report, Carrefour and Seventh Continent are said to be in an exclusivity period, which bans Seventh Continent from talking to any other potential buyers, a sign the deal is imminent. Shares of Carrefour ( CRERF - news - people ) fell 2.1%, or 63 euro cents, to 30.13 euros ($40.33), in afternoon trading in Paris, while shares of Seventh Continent ( SCJSF - news - people ) soared to 320.00 rubles ($9.80) on Moscow's Int...
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