Casino, Guichard-Perrachon S.A. (0HB1) Q1 2021 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

Press 1 to listen to the last recording. Press 2 to listen. The playback of the recording will now begin. Welcome to the first quarter 2021 of Casino Group Conference Call. I now hand over to Mr. David Lubeck, Chief Financial Officer of Casino Group. Sir, please go ahead. Thank you. Good evening, everyone. Thank you for attending our quarterly results conference calls. I hope you are all remaining safe and well. This time last year, our Q1 2020 conference call took place during a stringent lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic. A lot has changed in the year. All companies have had to adapt to a new environment. With the rollout of the vaccine campaigns, we can start to envision a return to normal in the coming quarters. Of course, we must remain prudent and the future remains uncertain, but we can already draw lessons as to how we fared during this crisis, our current situation, and our future perspectives. In short, we are coming out of this period in significantly better shape, as shown in our Q9 results today. This is a result of our strategic positioning, the speed at which we acted, and the total dedication of our teams. Compared to a year ago, I would sum up our situation in three key assessments. First, our operations are much more profitable. Second, our financial situation has clearly improved. And third, our growth opportunities in the most attractive segments of the market are bright. We are now set for clear leadership in the group's areas of excellence and are best placed to take advantage of the key megatrends in our relevant markets. First, we are much more profitable. Group EBITDA increased by 21% year-on-year at constant exchange rate, with France and Latin America both contributing to this improvement. Let's start with France. EBITDA grew plus 1...