Casino 1h18 - strong improvement in operating profit and cash generati...

French food retailer Casino has released a strong set of underlying results for 1H18, in line with our expectations and management’s guidance. This follows the release about two weeks ago of sound sales numbers for 2Q18, with LFL growth of 3.2% yoy (after +1.8% in Q1) and a 10bp gain in market share. However, today’s release was somewhat tarnished by the continued lack of transparency and simplicity of Casino evidenced by the further use of financial engineering to move cash around the group - a...