The French supermarket group Carrefour announced strong results for 2021 on Wednesday, amid rumors of a possible merger with rival Auchan.
Specifically, it announced having obtained a net profit of 1,070 million euros (1,220 million dollars) in 2021, 67% more than in 2020, thanks mainly to cost savings and solid sales.
This result exceeds the expectations of the analysts questioned by Factset, who on average expected a net profit of 1,040 million.
Since October there have been rumors of a possible purchase of auchan. But according to several sources there has been no contact between the two groups or between their respective reference shareholders: the Mulliez on behalf of Auchan and the Moulin family (of Galerie Lafayette) and the Brazilian millionaire Abilio Diniz by Carrefour.
The group relies on its good results in 2021 to show that “it absolutely does not need a consolidation to ensure its development”, as stated by its CEO Alexander Bompard in an interview with Les Echos in November.
The group highlighted above all its current operating income (ROC), a reference indicator in the distribution sector, which rose by more than 4.5%, to 2,270 million euros (2,585 million dollars).
In Latin Americawhere it has a strong presence, Carrefour increased its current operating income by 6.3% to 768 million euros (874 million dollars), after a strong increase of 26.4% in 2020.
In Brazil – where Carrefour claims to be the leading retailer of food products – the current operating result increased to 714 million euros (813 million euros).
On the other hand Carrefour reported having successfully completed, a year ahead of schedule, a €330 million ($375 million) sale of “non-strategic” real estate assets and secured €930 million ($1.06 billion) of cost savings in 2021.
In addition, it registered an increase in sales of 2.3%, to 81.245 million euros (92.550 million dollars).
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