Carrefour Declines on Concern French Margin Growth Unsustainable
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Carrefour SA, France’s largest retailer, fell in Paris trading on concern it may be forced to cut prices or concede market share in its domestic market, putting pressure on profit margins.
French competitors including Géant and Leclerc SA have reduced price-tags while Boulogne-Billancourt-based Carrefour has resisted, Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, said today in a note to clients. Gross margin in France, the company’s biggest market, widened 20 basis points in the six months through June, which the grocer attributed to cost savings from transportation of goods and a reduction in lost or stolen products.