CRERF - Carrefour SA (CRRFY) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call Transcript
2024-02-20 20:30:06 ET
Carrefour SA (CRRFY)
Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call
February 20, 2024, 12:15 PM ET
Company Participants
Alexandre Bompard - Chairman and CEO
Matthieu Malige - Chief Financial Officer
Conference Call Participants
Sreedhar Mahamkali - UBS
Cedric Lecasble - Stifel
Izabel Dobreva - Morgan Stanley
Andrew Gwynn - BNP Paribas Exxon
Nick Coulter - Citi
Frederick Wild - Jefferies
Clement Genelot - Bryan Garnier & Co
Francois Digard - Kepler Cheuvreux
Nicolas Champ - Barclays
Presentation
Operator
Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Carrefour Full Year 2023 Webcast and Conference Call. At this time all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation there'll be a question and answer session. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded.
I would now like to hand the conference over to your first speaker today, Alexandre Bompard, Chairman and CEO. Please go ahead, sir.
Alexandre Bompard
Good evening to all of you. Thank you for joining us for this presentation of our annual results. Before we begin, I would like to talk to you about our shareholders on France, Abilio Diniz, who passed away on Sunday night. Since 2015, his life has been deeply intertwined with that of Carrefour, and the story of the Carrefour Group will always be closely linked to him. For an earlier decade, he has served as an example for all of us, and I want to express in the name of the entire Carrefour Group, our profound emotion, admiration and gratitude for his contributions to Carrefour at Group level and in Brazil. Despite our sorrow, I have to present to you the results of our group for the year 2023.
Before we get into any figures, I'd like to share some reflections on 2023. Last year was marked by an extremely challenging environment. We faced unprecedented macroeconomic challenges that impacted us more clearly in 2023, surging inflation across Europe, escalating interest rates and consequences of soaring energy costs. Consequently, we witnessed the most significant decline in volume for decades, at least since the late '80s.
Meanwhile, customers increasingly shifted towards private labels and entry price items and showed a heightened dependence on promotions. These trends posed significant challenges to our industry. Retailers faced the pressure of high inflation and the complexities of adjusting pricing policy which added to the difficulty of negotiating with suppliers.
Additionally, the financial services sector experienced tightening margins under intense pressure due to the rising cost of borrowings and the higher cost of risk. Moreover, the landscape of regulatory instability presented an erratic and restrictive backdrop, adding another layer of complexity to our strategic planning and execution. These challenging conditions have led to a clear polarization among retailers. Some have not been able to maintain their footing, while others have seized the opportunity to strengthen their market position.
Against these challenges, Carrefour maintained a strong performance and demonstrates the strength and resilience of its economic model. This resilience is reflected in all our key performance metrics. Our sales continued to grow, thanks to our commercial strategy....
Carrefour SA (CRRFY) Q4 2023 Earnings Conference Call Transcript