Casino, Guichard-Perrachon S.A. (CO) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this Annual General Meeting to which you've been invited to attend according to legal time frame. And as Chairman of the Board of Directors, I'm delighted to have you here. We have a few journalists in the room as well. And there is an audio and video recording that is live streamed as well as recorded and available for catch-up viewing. So a clip to tell you about the latest updates, the latest developments. [Presentation]

Major changes at play, inflation, pleasure buying, new players, new brands, all happening fast; some closing shop, others taking over, a lot of square meters of service area. Our customers are changing the way they buy and consume. They buy less, but they buy more often. They want to go through a new buying experience. They want more human relationships. They want something that is more personalized, more custom tailored, that is simpler, faster, with more affordable prices and better quality; more local produce; more choices between online [ chat ] and in-store buying and closer to home with more convenience retailing. Faced with all these challenges, what can be our new positioning in this new environment? What can be our new role in this new society? Which projects are we able to put forward? Renewal.

So what is the project we are intending to put forward? We'll discuss that this morning, but let's set up the General Meeting Committee: Pascal Leclerc as scrutineer, representing French Retail Holding; and Ms. Claire Langelier, representing Fimalac and -- shareholder representing the largest number of shares. And she has accepted to act as scrutineer. Any shareholders who would like to object or abstain, please raise your hand so I can identify you. [Presentation]

No abstention, no objection. That's fine. We hereby constituted General Meeting Committee -- has to appoint a Secretary. Ms. Béatrice Davourie, sitting next to me, who's our Legal Director, will act as Secretary. And our General Manager and our CFO are sitting next to me to tell you more about the current situation, our strategy, financial statements; as well as take your questions. We also have our statutory auditors. I ran into them earlier on. They will present you with their report. And there is a notes taker and a bailiff as well as an audio and video recording. And thanks to both of them, bailiff and notetaker. You have all signed the attendance sheet. And shareholders present in the room who have given their proxy or are voting online constitute a quorum, which means that the quorum for the Annual General Meeting as well as the Extraordinary Annual General Meeting is constituted; and so we may proceed. Information with -- related to this Annual General Meeting have been put together in a document that has been made available to all shareholders in time. If that's okay with you, let's not go through the agenda. And we have made public a number of elements in L'Essor regional newspaper as well as the official gazette. And I will, without further ado, give the floor to Philippe Palazzi, our Chief Executive Officer, who will tell you more about our positioning, transformation and strategic plan.

Thank you, Mr. President, Mr. Chair. But before I get into the thick of the matter, I would like to pay tribute to someone who is amongst us today but who will retire this evening after 45 years. Yes, you heard that right, 45 years of service within the Casino Group. Mr. Gilbert Delahaye is sitting there. I just wanted to greet him and pay tribute to him, Gilbert, who's been part of institutional relations directorate. Dear Gilbert, you joined Casino in 1979 as head of sales and marketing for the convenience retailing department, so it's very fitting for me to pay tribute to you because it is going to be our positioning. You've also been the Head of Sustainable Development for Casino between 2001, 2010, another essential focus for us, the whole group and the executive committee. And amongst all your positions, I want to pay tribute to your commitment within the foundation acting against exclusion. And you've worked hard at integrating vulnerable people, so the whole group wants to, through my voice, thank you warmly for everything you've contributed during those 45 years and everything you've passed on and your experience that you've transmitted. Thank you so much again, Gilbert. I am now going to share with you the group's positioning, transformation and strategic plan for the Casino Group. So it's been a little over a year since I took up this office as General Manager, after the change in shareholders and in governance. So there's been intense work from our teams, from our franchisees, from our suppliers, but also for you, shareholders, it's been an intense time period. I know your frustration, your expectations. And believe me: We are all hands on deck so that our work may bear fruition. So to tell you about the Casino Group and changes in 2024, I'll tell you about the positioning, the new scope. It's the main characteristics in terms of positioning and a few figures and what our assets are. Then I'll tell you about the deep transformations that have been implemented in 2024. I'll tell you about the strategic plan that we've entitled renewal 2028 which should make it possible for the group to create new momentum. And finally, I will tell you about the first achievements within the framework of that plan. So for starters, I'd say that the group has transformed deeply. So what is this new Casino Group? It is a group with a new scope, more consistent scope; 7 brands that are both unique and very complementary, so Casino, Monoprix, Vival, Spar, Naturalia, Cdiscount and Franprix. It is a group focused on convenience. We've disposed of our hypermarkets and supermarkets that we've -- that have been taken over by Auchan, Intermarché and Carrefour. And 40 million (sic) [ 42 million ] people in France live less than 10 minutes from a Casino-branded store. And with Cdiscount's, they're even next door since they can buy online. 1 out of 2 convenience stores is a Casino Group store. In terms of figures, as of the end of 2024, we have 20,000 staff members in head offices, logistics platforms and integrated stores; EUR 12.5 billion in GMV; EUR 8.5 billion in net sales; and an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 111 million. And casino -- the Casino Group also represents 7,447 outlets in France and internationally, with all our overseas territories and our international stores. In Paris, we currently have 38% market share, according to Circana. And that compares nicely with our competitors and a 15% market share for Naturalia. That's mostly Paris-based stores. 85% of franchise stores: That is a very significant element because we now have a strategy as a wholesale retailer as well. We have to work hard at integrating our franchisees. We have to -- because their success is our success. This new scope and this new positioning is a major asset for the Casino Group. It is a major asset because convenience retailing is a fast-growing market. 2,300 new convenience stores have been created in 10 years, so there have been changes in consumer habits. Consumers shop more often. And they shop sometimes on a daily basis, so it's smaller baskets but more frequent purchases. And convenience stores benefit from an excellent public image. 85% of French people surveyed say the word convenience has positive connotations, so we are in the right place in the right moment. And we can say that 2024 has been a year marked by transformation. And when I -- as soon as I took up my office, I decided that we had to act strongly and fast, so we've -- we took concrete decisions that were difficult but that were necessary to save the group and to ensure its sustainability. And we came up with a project, a long-term project in 3 phases, restore, recover and grow. Ever since that date in Q2 2024, we've -- shared in -- last November our strategic plan with all stakeholders. It's been then explained and developed across brands. And we then decided on the strategic plan for 2025, 2028; and we wasted no time getting down to work. And let me now come back to those 4 initiatives. Transformation started with financial restructuring with a share capital increase and the conversion of most of our debt into equity. There's been a transfer of control of Casino Group to France Retail Holdings, the consortium's controlling holding company. That includes EP Equity Investment; and F. Marc de la Lacharrière, Fimalac. So we've decided to refocus the group's business on convenience retail. In Latin America, we exited Éxito and we now only own 20% of GPA. So we discontinued all our hypermarkets and supermarket businesses, with 427 outlets sold by the end of '24. So this refocusing is a major asset for the group because convenience retailing, once again, is the most dynamic market. And so supermarkets and hypermarkets, between 2019 and 2024, has really dropped. And as a result, most of the money spent by our consumers will be spent in convenience stores. And the discontinuation of our hypermarkets and supermarkets came with an employment safeguarding redundancy plan. We were able to avoid over 1,000 redundancies, compared with the 3,230 jobs initially planned to be terminated. I want to thank all employees who left and who worked to the very last day. And I want to thank those that have stayed to join us in this new venture. Third focus, governance reorganization. We've separated the role of CEO and General Manager. The executive committee has been reshuffled, going from 15 to 12 members. They're all here sitting in the front row. And I want to thank them sincerely and warmly for their commitment and their loyalty. Other governance changes occurred in Naturalia and Monoprix. And I am now the Chairman of Monoprix and Naturalia, with Alfred Hawawini being the Head of Monoprix and Richard Jolivet the Head of Naturalia, so -- and the buying alliance has also been reshuffled, and Pauline Glaziou is at its head. And I have also set up steering committees, so as to make the strategic work across brands. So we -- once we've really settled into these 4 focuses, we will be able to kick-start that strategic plan that we've entitled Renouveau 2028, renewal 2028, together with our partners, with our staff and our -- all our employees. Our ambition is quite simple, but it's a very strong one, is to become #1 in convenience retailing. So give the best products and services to our customers. So that includes the quality of our products, the quality of our services and also sustainable development positioning. These brands sometimes are present in the same streets, in the same neighborhoods, but this is not only about geographical positioning. It's about having the right products on offer at the right time whilst really showcasing our values that -- our shared values. We want to be the #1 destination for our customers who want to come and do their grocery shopping. We also want to be #1 in food to go. It is a very profitable segment and we want to have an offering that is the fitting one for all occasions. In 2024, we already have 700 million of our volume in food to go. And these products come with better margins compared with the regular food product. We also want to become the leader in the services we provide in everyday life because that's very important for the loyalty of our customers. We want to provide solutions such as lockers, click and collect. We want to become #1, thanks to our collections for beauty, cosmetics and textile. And I would recommend that you go have a look, either online or in stores, at our latest collaboration with Garance Vallée. It's a beautiful brand, beautiful collection and affordable. We want to go on developing in e-commerce. It's another convenience -- another form of convenience retailing because it's available on everybody's smartphone. [ There, a ] European leader. And with its marketplace, its economic model is very well adjusted to our times. I want to emphasize the strength of our brands. They meet the expectations and needs of all French people, and we want to really strengthen them. We want to work on customer experience, and we want to work on innovation dissemination. What drives us is our service-oriented culture. It is really the essence of our work as retailers. Each brand has a responsibility to nurture that service culture. Thirdly, what makes us stronger is our power as a group. And by strengthening all support functions, we want to support performance for all our brands. We want to make our brands more competitive and more profitable. What unites us is the energy of all our people as a collective. We want to develop and organize the careers of every single one of our employees. And the last pillar but not the least, what motivates us is our social and environmental values. I'm absolutely a firm believer that our brands have a role to play for our customers and for society. Ever since the launch of our strategic plan in November, we have known our first achievements. And I'm going to give you the highlights. We started off by streamlining our store network. We wanted to secure our market share, but we reduced the number of outlets by 768. But we've opened 266 new stores. I won't go into the details, but you can see the breakdown by brand. A streamlining of our convenience stores went on in the first quarter at a very fast -- at a pretty fast pace, but profitability must be our priority, not only market share. With regards to franchise stores, because of our refocusing on convenience stores -- these franchise stores represent 85% of our store network. And we transferred 95 integrated stores in 2024. We want to put profitability back at the center of the stage. We set up a group committee, the role of which is to approve and select future franchisees. Our objective is to have the right franchisee for the right brand at the, in the right place. We've also launched an ambitious cost savings plan. We can leverage 3 different elements: head office cost reduction with our shared service centers for HR, payroll, accounting, IT, customer services. We have a single objective, which is to enhance the profitability of our brands. We also have started working on the reduction of our leasing costs. And thirdly, we want to invest with full control over our investments and over our CapEx, new concept by optimizing cost per square meters. At Franprix, we've reduced cost per square meters by 45% versus our pilot stores. With regards to procurement or purchasing. In -- since September 2024 and the striking event of a retail alliance through Aura -- for the food and nonfood, Aura Retail has been operational for 2025. This alliance gives us increased fire power and makes us stronger in our negotiations on prices. We're talking 130 major national and international suppliers compared to 70 suppliers previously. We've also had direct negotiations with SMEs and our local producers. Another priority is to redefine our product range, with specific offering for our franchisees, so as to optimize the logistics platforms. That's our B2B focus, but we also work on B2C, which translates into a richer assortment, with a priority given to made-in-France products. It is an essential point in our CSR policy. And in terms of price policy, twice in last year, we've lowered our prices for the -- our bestsellers at Casino, Spar and Vival. And we also have value lines and private labels. And we've also launched new loyalty programs, with one single loyalty program for Casino, Spar and Vival. And at Monoprix, we've completely rethought and overhauled the loyalty program. And we also have a new private label product offer. We want to make our private label strategy clearer. So we have for each of our brands a premium brand, an organic brand, a mid-range brand and a value line. For example, for Franprix, Franprix will roll out Leader Price for the mid-range, Franprix organic for the organic range and Franprix for the premium range. And we also have the value line. And this value line, called tous les jours, every day, is very competitive on sugar, butter. And the rollout should occur in the beginning of the second half of 2025 and should go on in the first half of 2026. All our private label products will feature the origin of the products on the packaging. And we've worked not only on new positioning and new product ranges but also a new concept. We want to come up with new successful concepts. There's been Oxygène at Franprix; La Ferme, farmyard, in Naturalia; La Cantine in -- for Monoprix and also for Casino, Spar and Vival; and also our new nomad grocery shop in rural areas. Let's watch a clip that will tell you more about these new concepts and brand platform. Our managers in the field are the best placed to talk about this. [Presentation]

Today, convenience is not just buying. It is from breakfast to dinner. Catering and snacking are fast-growing markets. At Casino, Spar and Vival, our ambition is to be included in this new consumption pattern. And we are developing Cœur de Blé, a single brand, to adapt to different types of stores. There are several approaches for all our stores, one promise, offer choice, quality and freshness, from the quality industrial range to made on spot. Full service, our strength, is modularity and knowhow. We know the way. It's up to us to implement it in the field.

At Franprix, we are fully committed in the Renouveau 2028 plan. 2024, we launched our new Oxygène store concept, 3 pillars. The objective is to offer the best of convenience in cities as close as possible to our customers, offering a commercial pattern that is more efficient for our franchisees. Our mission has not changed. We want to make the daily life of our urban customers easier, thanks to the services we offer in stores. We multiplied strategic partnerships, and we are the first convenience brand regarding the number of services. Being a leader in Paris for Vinted Go, we also offer the possibility to hire a raclette machine or a [ driller ] for 1 day, thanks to our collaboration with the Les Biens en Commun start-up company. Convenience is much more than shopping. It is being the right neighbor for your daily life.

Catering is a strategic pillar for the renouveau of Monoprix group. New concept for catering fully part of the long story and culture of Monoprix innovative brand, a fashionable brand for city centers, our concept is ever -- is adaptable and modular. This new concept of the canteen is part of our daily commitment for Monoprix in terms of solidarity, ethics, healthy products. We want to meet the various moments of consumption for our customers. We want to be adaptive to the various seasons. We spent months [ selected with ] Noëmie Honiat products, ingredients, recipes, from financier to the traditional ham-and-butter sandwich. We have everything to offer a very gourmet-quality offer that respects an affordable product for each and every one.

Welcome, for this new store concept called La Ferme, the farmyard, for Naturalia, innovative concept. It is market stalls divided into different habits of consumption. You have cheese on the counter. You have [ apparatus ]. You have wine counters. You can discover the organic offer throughout the journey in stalls. And we are here to help customers choose the best product, the corresponding offer. 94% of our offer is coming from France. In 2025, we'll have 30 new farmyards in the -- France, in the regions, and franchisees. This new concept is attracting new customers. It's more modern. It's more accessible and affordable. We highlight the price image. So the farmyard is a new concept that we now roll out in all our Naturalia stores.

In June 2024, Cdiscount unveiled its new brand platform, new logo, new charter, new brand identity to strengthen our values and show our DNA. It is a popular, positive French brand committed for the French purchasing power and for a more responsible consumption. We want to defend the power of making a choice. This is the customer promise. We want to have a capacity to increase the purchasing power. Thanks to competitive prices, they will have access to a broader range. They will also be able to choose a French merchant. This is the major change we made over the past years, more marketplace. We can offer our customers more choices, lower prices. And for that, we are supported by a media campaign in large commercial moments like Black Friday. And now we are growing again. In 2025, we will keep going on that trajectory.

Before I give the floor to Laurent and Angélique for the financial results, I want to come back to 3 elements. After 12 months of deep transformation from April '24 to today, we are now starting the recovery phase. There's still a lot to do, but we are on the right track. The results for 2024 and first quarter of 2025 are still -- or reflect the past, but our vision is clear. We want to have the best for convenience brands with key markets, representing 3 growth relay, daily shopping, on the go and new services. We are developing our strategic plan to do so, Renouveau 2028. We had become a small one in distribution. We want to become a giant in convenience stores. Thanks to concrete actions over the past years, I'm very much optimistic for the new Casino brand. We have the structure. We have the adequate people to efficiently implement this strategic plan. And I want to sincerely thank all our employees and partners, franchisees and suppliers. Everything is now in place for us to reach our objectives to develop our beautiful brands. I now give the floor to our Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. CEO, dear Philippe. That's true. It was very interesting, what you said. We can clearly see the journey that we've made till March. And we can really see with you the strategy for Renouveau 2028 and all the transformations you introduced for all the different business units and brands of our group. There could be questions on that topic later on, no doubt, but it allows us to start this AGM with energy, with optimism. Contrary to what you said, I am not going to introduce the financial result because we have an excellent Chief Financial Officer to do go -- so, but with the Chairman of the Audit Committee, Pascal Clouzard, we are very much attentive to what she can bring. So dear Angélique, you have the floor.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Hello, everyone. I'm very happy to be with you today to introduce the annual results for 2024 and those of the Q1 2025 that were published yesterday night. First, the scope of the group. As you know, when we published the results for 2023, the financial data presented by the group are for only the scope for continued operations. That's convenience brands Monoprix, Naturalia, Franprix and Casino; plus Cdiscount; and one segment collecting the residual activities of the group, real estate and the cost and management center of Casino, Guichard and Casino service. With the IFRS standards, some activities are also presented as discontinued operations. That's Grupo Éxito. We sold our shareholdership in January 2024. GPA, we lost the control in March 2024, further to an increase in capital; and the hypermarket and supermarket operations that were transferred throughout '23 and 2024. Before reviewing all our results, I'd like to give you some figures concerning the 2024 market -- the market where we have our brands now. According to Circana data, the changes in FMCG decreased by minus 0.5% net sales compared to 2023. This is due to a slowing down of inflation as from May '24 and no development in volumes because they're decreased by minus 0.8 -- 0.9%. Annual inflation was 0.5% for FMCG when the general inflation reached 2%. This decrease in volume by 0.9% last year can be explained by the evolutions in consumption trend with a continued decrease in average basket plus calendar and weather impacts. The trend was reversed at the beginning of this year with a recovery of volumes that we can see for 2025 Q1. Convenience recorded a growth in value, plus 1.5%; and in volume, plus 8 -- plus 0.8%, last year. And this growth has been accelerating the first quarter 2025. Now in terms of net sales. It reached EUR 8.5 billion last year, minus 0.2% -- 0.6% (sic) [ minus 2.6% ] in LFL. This is not reflecting the dynamism of our convenience brands because it is impacting by the decrease in Cdiscount being impacted by the streamlining of its sales in favor of the marketplace. For Cdiscount, throughout 2024, we had a sequential improvement every quarter. Convenience brands Monoprix, Naturalia, Franprix and Casino recorded an LFL of minus 6% (sic) [ minus 0.6% ]. As for Monoprix, the brand showed some stability. It reflects the momentum of Monop', plus 3.3%, and a slight slowdown at Monoprix City that were penalized by the food sector. Contrary, the nonfood sector were supported by textile, plus 2.5%; and e-commerce sales that reached plus 2%, thanks to the revamping of the fashion and house website already at the beginning of 2024. Naturalia, plus 4.7%, supported by the success of the La Ferme concept. We have an increase in sales over 10%. And more stores were converted in 2024. Franprix posted a decrease of minus 0.5%, impacted by the choice made in the summer 2024 to reduce prices in stores and in wholesales for franchisees, but there was also the choice not to reproduce and not to continue commercial operations that were dilutive for Franprix. The footfall for Franprix is increasing by 1.4% in 2024, and this trend continued in 2025. Casino brands, minus 3.6% LFL. 2024 was highly impacted by disruptions in the selling of hyper- and supermarkets. We had to revamp the total logistics master's plan. November and December for Casino proximité showed a coming back to growth, thanks to a strong performance of seasonal stores during the winter season. From [ EUR 8.5 million ] pretax, we reached an adjusted EBITDA of EUR 111 (sic) [ EUR 111 million ], minus EUR 209 million compared to 2023. On this slide, you have the breakdown per brand. It was due to nonrecurring products that were existing in 2024 and not continued in 2024 at Monoprix and Franprix, the inflation in operational expenses due to unfavorable volumes at Monoprix, the depreciation of debt at Franprix and a less-favorable margin mix; logistics over-cost due to the transfer of hyper- and supermarkets for Casino; the increase in marketing costs for Cdiscount as it chose to evolve its strategic plans; head office costs due to our former hypermarket and supermarket activities. Yet Naturalia protected the group's EBITDA last year with an improvement of EUR 7 million, thanks to a positive volume effect and a decrease in its OpEx. That's energy cost. For the P&L of the group, we have a net result of minus 285 million -- EUR 295 million. Continued activities are favorably impacted, EUR 2.2 billion; and discontinued activities having a negative impact, minus EUR 2.5 billion. So the continued activities were impacted by 3 elements. Other operational charges for minus [ 8 million ], for Franprix minus [ 0.4 million ]; and restructuring costs for EUR 81 million. The financial income was very positive, plus EUR 3.1 billion, for reasons that I would call technical ones. EUR 3.5 billion related to the conversion of debt, further to the financial restructuring. The net borrowing cost, for itself, had an impact of minus EUR 233 million; and interest express (sic) [ expense ] on lease liabilities, for minus EUR 142 million. Tax expense, EUR 75 million; deferred taxes, [ for EUR 64 million ]. Now as for discontinued operations results, Éxito and GPA, for minus EUR 2.5 billion, related to the reclassification of the income statement for equity of -- and the transfer of hypermarket and supermarket cost EUR 56 million to the consolidated accounts of the group. Now the net financial debt. The financial restructuring of March reduced the gross debt by EUR 5 billion, thanks to an increase in capital of 1.2 billion and the cancellation of debts for [ EUR 3.9 billion ]. Since that date, the financial debt was reduced by EUR 390 million. On that slide, we are introducing the evolution of our debt structure for 2024. Since the restructuring, you can see that the RCF has been fully paid back already in Q2, thanks to the [ transfer session ] products. The nominal amount of Quatrim secured shares was reduced to EUR 300 million end of 2024, thanks to [indiscernible] transaction. And I would add that this group continued the payback in beginning of the year, this year, so the debt is EUR 221 million now. The other debt decreased by EUR 171 million second half year, EUR 464 million to EUR 293 million, thanks to the transfer to Intermarché of a residual participation in 64 stores signed in 2023. In 2023, September, the group transferred 49% of the -- of its participation in 65 stores. It got an installment payment on that sale, and in 2024, it was recognized in the results when the 51% remaining were transferred. As I was saying, our net debt went from EUR 6.2 million to EUR 1.2 million (sic) [ EUR 6.2 billion to EUR 1.2 billion ], but if we put aside the effects of the financial restructuring, you can see the evolution of our debt over 9 months as from the 1st of April till the 31st of December 2024; and the reduction of or by EUR 390 million, supported by the active transfer and the sale of hyper- and supermarkets plus the real estate transfer and the transfer of GreenYellow at the beginning of this year. Now 31st of December scheduling of our debt payment. Most of our debt, apart from RCF, has a maturity date of March 2027 if the extension option is used. This is submitted to the respecting of our [ covenant test ] that, of 31st of December 2025, Quatrim maturity date is January 2027, with a 1-year expansion option. And as of today, the average maturity date is rather short, leading and making the group work on its refinancing as early as possible to improve its flexibility but also its cost. Now information about financial covenants. Since the restructuring, we have a series of new commercial commitments that we have to respect. The new agreements include a minimum liquidity level, EUR 100 million, on the last day of each month but also at the end of the 3 months further to the communication of this liquidity; and net leverage ratio end of each quarter that must respect a specific level. As for our liquidity positioning end of 2024, it was EUR 1.5 billion. It was made up of amounts that were available immediately: EUR 500 million for available cash at Casino Finance -- is our cash-pooling company at group level; EUR 711 million of credit facility, the RCF financing that has not been drawn as from March 2024; and EUR 308 million of other undrawn financing possibilities due to overdraft and credit facilities for Monoprix, plus bilateral credit lines. Now the net leverage ratio was at 11.73x on 31st December 2024. 31st March, it is 14.63x. We communicated it yesterday. It is not considering the future savings for the next 18 months, on the calculation date of this [ covenant ], further to a flexibility that is mentioned in our bank documentation. The EBITDA forecast for the next 2 quarters should allow us to respect the next test, for the 31st of September. Now financial data for Q1 2025, published yesterday, net sales EUR 2 billion, minus 0.2% (sic) [ minus 1.2% ] LFL. Monoprix, Naturalia, Franprix, Casino show a decrease by 0.7%, compared to previous quarter reporting 0.2%. Total variations is convenience brand show a decrease by 4.8%, is due to streamlining of the store and a calendar effect representing 1.3% in such a decrease. Cdiscount, minus 4.6% LFL, is still being impacted by its evolution strategy towards a marketplace. The GMV of the group first quarter 2029 (sic) [ 2025 ], at EUR 2.9 billion, minus 3.6%, including again this calendar effect. Adjusted EBITDA reaches EUR 100 million first quarter, minus EUR 6 million compared to Q1 2024 because of dis-synergies impact. The EBITDA of Q1 2024 had not been impacted yet by these dis-synergies, as they were recognized in the group's EBITDA when -- published in the first quarter 2024. By excluding this effect, EBITDA would be improving by EUR 6 million on this first quarter 2025 [ from first ] quarter 2024. For adjusted EBITDA, after payment of leases, it reaches minus [ 16 million, an evolution of 6 million for ] Q1 2024. Free cash flow is representing minus EUR 81 million first quarter 2025, an improvement by EUR 246 million, even if we have to remind that this improvement considers EUR 153 million of payment that were made in the first quarter 2024, debts that were under a moratorium during the financial restructuring. So we exclude this amount. This, the free cash flow, is plus EUR 93 million. Thank you for your attention.

Thank you very much, Angélique, for this presentation. It was very important that you could make this picture of all our results and indebtedness level, that you were able to comment upon the key figures for the first quarter. Maybe there will be questions and discussion later on about that very key part of our AGM. Not with us on stage but will join us, we have now Christophe Piednoël, Director of Communications, CSR and Public Relations. He's going to talk about the group's approach regarding our CSR approach. Last year, we mentioned the importance of this policy at group level in order to sustain our work. So I wanted to thank you, my dear Philippe, for considering the expectations of the Board of Directors in that sector.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I am going to report on the actions and the results of our CSR policy for 2024. In 2024 -- yes. In 2024, our group respected some of our commitments in terms of responsible trade. We signed the United Nations Global Compact and the Women's Empowerment Principles. We are holding the AFNOR diversity and workplace equality labels. And our ESG performance allowed us to gain 69 out of 100 for the Moody's assessment. Our group is still strongly commitment -- committed in animal well-being. We've been one of the forerunners in this commitment. We are still actively participating in the AEBEA. It is an animal welfare label association. In 2023, the group continued on active policies in favor of diversity. We are now the first group of -- that obtained the diversity -- professional diversity label. We have nearly 6% [ of ] disabled employees, and we started a training program for invisible disabilities. I want to mention Cdiscount, as it received from the financial time (sic) [ Financial Times ] the title of diversity leader for the sixth consecutive year. As for professional equality, the group has nearly 47% [ of ] executive women, increasing compared to 2023. And we are aiming to reach gender equality by 2030. The number of senior managers, women senior managers, is nearing 42%. And the Board of Directors is fully -- in this project. We are all supporting the houses for women. We start collecting money to combat violence against women. Last week, we opened our new foundation. It has been created on the basis of the 2 other foundations. We are mobilizing all the group's employees, and the topic is development of people. And this foundation is being chaired by Philippe Palazzi. Beyond this foundation, our actions generated [ 8,630 ] tonnes of food donations or 16 million meals. We collected EUR 2.3 million in donations that were given back to associations. CSR approach is, of course -- or can be seen through all our products: first, with responsible product. This offer is increasing. Our objective is 20% of such an offer by 2030. More than 4,000 private label products are showing the Nutri-Score label. And as for animal well-being, we have always been a leader. One example, 100% of the Casino brand, Franprix brand chicken will be labeled with this well-being for animals. We are signing the national pact on plastic. 100% of packaging should be recyclable and reusable by 2025. We reduced or canceled plastic packaging on more than 1,600 of our products over the past 5 years. Fighting against climate change is at the core of the group's actions. In 2024, we reduced by 9% our direct emissions and 8% our indirect emissions. And in order to reduce our emissions linked to transport, we have certified all our stores and warehouses. Franprix is included in the FRET21 of ADEME that is aiming at a reduction of the transport impact. In terms of energy, the group made a strong choice. We decided to buy 30% of our energy mix as renewable energy right from this year, and our objective is to reach 50% by 2030. To fight against food wastage, 7 million baskets were saved as from 2018, thanks to our partnership with Too Good To Go. So in a few words, this is the result for 2024. Our societal and environmental commitments are fully part of the group strategy. It is 1 of the 5 pillars presented by Philippe. Each day, we refine our strategies and actions, as we want to consider the customers' expectations, want to preserve the social connections and preserve our environment. Thank you.

Thank you, Christophe. Yes, that -- he deserve a round of applause. It was very clear. Estelle Cherruau clapped first. And she's right to do that because, as HR manager, she actually promotes a number of these values. And many thanks to her and her team. Thank you, Christophe. We shall come back a bit later on to these questions when we hear about the certification of our sustainability report and hear it from the voices of those that have audited us -- that reflects the commitment of Christophe and his team. Let's talk about governance now. And it is my job to share that with you, the report on -- of your Board of Directors on governance, which is in Chapter 5 of the universal registration document for 2024, with the composition of the Board of Directors, the preparation and implementation of the work of the Board of Directors and the remuneration of corporate officers. So the Board of Directors was almost completely overhauled in March 2024 to reflect the new shareholders [indiscernible]. And as of the 11th of June 2024, the governance have been finalized. So you see all the directors there, 1 representing employees, Ms. Kerner that I see in the front row with your colleagues of the Board of Directors -- you've been in our fold in the Board of Directors since March 2024, but you've been in the group for much longer than that. And we have 2 nonvoting directors that have been on the Board of Directors since February 2025. This Board of Directors has a significant percentage of independent directors. With regards to gender equality, we're almost there because we have 4 female directors. We've applied the principles of the Afep-Medef Code for the composition. A quick word about the separation of the roles of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, which makes for a better distribution of power and responsibilities; makes for a more efficient decision-making process, more transparent decision-making process, which against the backdrop of a complex restructuring was essential. We have the needed expertise in our fold, with Philippe Palazzi and the whole executive committee, to work on the strategic priorities and to benefit the company and all shareholders. Our 2 nonvoting directors bring their contribution; their experience; and their real expertise, which is important for us, in terms of finance and management. And there has been an assessment of the Board of -- of the work of the Board of Directors. You -- and which is why we are going to ask you to renew the terms of Mr. Palazzi and Ms. Onassis, whose terms come to an end at this Annual General Meeting. Let's move to the next slide, slide 50. I'll tell you more about the work of the different committees. They are strongly committed to the restructuring, reorganization of the Casino Group, pursuant to the relaunch plan that was -- and a strategic plan that was shared in November. There have been regular meetings. You'll find the details of the work of the different committees in the universal registration document. Members of the Board of Directors have been on deck to prepare for the work of the Board, which you can see the reflection of in the indicators that you see displayed here. There have also been Governance and CSR Committee meetings and strategic committee meetings that have made the work of the whole of -- the Board committees and the Board of Directors a lot easier and possible. To -- the Audit Committee includes 2/3 of independent directors. Its Chairman is Pascal Clouzard. They've worked on accounts, cash flow, debt, budgets and risk management. The Appointments and Compensation Committee also includes 2/3 of independent directors, including its Chairperson, Elisabeth Sandager that I can see sitting in the front row in front of Mr. Clouzard. They've looked at the compensation policies and succession policies. We'll tell you more about compensation policies in a moment. The Governance and CSR Committee are exclusively made up of independent directors. They've looked at the enforcement of government rules, the ethics and CSR policies as well as the Board of Directors' procedures, management of conflicts of interest and training provided by the Board. Ms. Andrieux asked to be excused, but her commitment doesn't need to be proven anymore. And the strategic committee, made up of 5 members; and chaired by Philippe Palazzi, our General Manager: I would like to emphasize the work on the medium- and long-term strategy, the long-term strategy, and also on our values and our renewal 2028 plan. So the way responsibilities are distributed across committees has been deemed adequate and sufficient by the auditors. It's been decided that the director representing employees would join the Appointments and Compensation Committee, pursuant to the Afep-Medef Code. And within the framework of that governance, we are fully committed by your side, dear Philippe; and with your -- with Philippe's team, so as to make the renewal 2028 plan a success, for the benefit of the company and all partners of the group and shareholders. And I wanted to reassert our trust in you and all your teams. Angélique reminded us of the difficult context and environment in which we have to operate. And I want to thank all the teams of the different operational units. I think, Ms. Sandager, Chair of the Appointments and Compensation Committee, the floor is yours so that you can tell us about the compensation of the Chairman as well as corporate officers.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my responsibility here to tell you about compensation, including compensation of corporate officers. So it's been presented in details in Chapter 5 of the universal registration document and also in the brochure that you were sent together with the invitation to attend. For 2024, the compensation to the Chairman of the Board of Directors includes fixed compensation up to EUR 150,000, which excludes any other form of compensation pursuant to the Afep-Medef Code. Compensation of the CEO for 2024, in 2024, it is made up of fixed compensation of EUR 628,571 on a pro rata basis; as well as an annual variable compensation adding up to EUR 618,750 based on operational objectives, individual objectives and CSR objectives. The Board of Directors that met on February 27 noted that all of the objectives had been achieved, which is why you see a 100% achievement rate. The details of the appraisal by the Board of Directors is available to you in the universal registration document. There are also benefits in kind as well as a -- as well as housing. With regards to the long-term compensation, which has been approved as of June 11, that could not be applied because the conditions needed were not actually there. There are benefits in kind in the -- and so in the form of company accommodation, as I said before, but also exceptional compensation in the form of 183,152 company shares -- and the availability of shares, so as -- the delay in the availability of shares that may be acquired under the new LTI plan for 2025 compared with the unallocated plan. There are performance conditions according to which these 183,000 company shares could be made available, subject to your approval. For 2025, the -- well, in terms of compensation of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, a fixed compensation that is put to your vote is EUR 200,000, without any other form of compensation. For 2025, the CEO and -- no changes. There's fixed compensation up to EUR 825,000, unchanged; plus annual variable compensation which is capped at 121% of the fixed compensation, subject to the achievement of targets; 3 quantitative financial objectives based on adjusted EBITDA, operating free cash flow and net sales. EBITDA and free cash flow after lease payments and before disposal plans are aligned on the budget objectives for 2025. What's more, there are objectives linked to individual performance and linked to identifying and securing and retaining group's key functions; and finally, 3 quantitative CSR extra-financial objectives, percentage of women managers in 2025, CO2 emitted by the group in France and a third objective linked to power consumption per square meters in France. These target objectives are also aligned on the trajectory of the group. These will be assessed and noted by the Board of Directors upon the initiative of -- upon the proposal of the Appointments and Remuneration Committee. The CEO is not remunerated for his role as a director. With regards to long-term incentives, it takes the form of an allocation of performance shares based on performance objectives, the performance criteria. A maximum of 1,325,000 performance shares will be made available, subject to performance conditions. The performance objectives can be broken down as follow: 70% based on operating cash flow and CapEx targets; and 30% based on performance targets in line with the objectives of the renewal 2028 plan, GMV, market share and number of stores opened under new concepts. Same -- or still as part of LTI, there is a compensation for noncompetition clause as well as for retirement compensation. And there are also supplementary pension and benefits scheme. With regards to the compensation of nonexecutive corporate officers. For 2025, what is proposed to you is to renew the same rules for -- that we applied for 2025 (sic) [ 2024 ]. That is a compensation of EUR 30,000 for directors, with a fixed component of EUR 8,500. And the remuneration of directors is thus unchanged. EUR 650,000 is the overall annual budget. That is unchanged. And I thank you for your attention.

Perfect. Thank you very much. It could seem a bit dry, but it's actually absolutely essential in terms of performance. So many thanks to you, Elisabeth. And I would now ask Béatrice Davourie, who is our General Counsel, to present us with the resolutions that will be put up for a vote.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, shareholders. As part of the ordinary and extraordinary general meeting, the first and second resolutions pertain to the approval of the 2024 parent company and consolidated financial statements that have just been shared with you. The third resolution has to do with the allocation of profit for an amount of EUR 2,231,303,675.39 and retained earnings. It will then be proposed to you, under the fourth and fifth resolution, to approve the reelection of 2 directors. That is Philippe Palazzi and Ms. Athina Onassis. Under the sixth resolution, we ask for your approval of the information referred to in article L. 22-10-9 I of the French Commercial Code, relating to the compensation of corporate officers paid in or granted for 2024. Under the seventh resolution, we ask for your approval of the total compensation and benefits of any kind paid to Laurent Pietraszewski in 2024 or granted to him in respect of that year, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors as of the 27th of March 2024. Under the eighth resolution, we ask for you to approve an amendment to the compensation policy for Philippe Palazzi, CEO as of 27th of March, in consideration of his term. The ninth resolution has to do with the approval of the total compensation and benefits of any kind paid to Philippe Palazzi in 2024 or granted to him in respect of that year, in his capacity as CEO as of 27th of March 2024. Under the 10th resolution, we ask for your approval of the compensation policy for the Chairman of the Board of Directors in respect of financial year 2025, in consideration of his position. The 11th and 12th resolution pertain, on the one hand, to the approval of the compensation policy for the CEO in respect of financial year 2025 in consideration of his position; and on the other hand, to the approval of the compensation policy for directors in respect of financial year 2025. The 13th resolution pertains to the authorization for the company to buy back its own shares within the limit of 10% of share capital, at a maximum purchase price of EUR 8 per share. In case of a public tender offer or takeover bid, there could be no securities -- there have been no -- except to meet securities delivery commitments, there would be no buying back of share, expect (sic) [ except ] in connection with free share plans. Under the 14th and 15th resolution, we ask for your approval of the amendment to Article 18 of the Articles of Association, relating to the deliberations of the Board of Directors; as well as amendment to Articles 25, 27, 28 and 29 of the Articles of Association, so as to comply with amended laws and make corrections. 16th and last resolution is a resolution that is a usual resolution with regards to powers for formalities.

Right. Thank you very much, Ms. General Counsel, for the presentation of these resolutions. So we'll come back to them to put them up for a vote towards the end of the general -- the Annual General Meeting. We shall now give the floor to our statutory auditors, who will, in succession, present their report. I will first ask Stéphane Rimbeuf from the Deloitte consultancy to take the floor. Over to you, Mr. Rimbeuf.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Ladies and gentlemen, shareholders, on behalf of the statutory auditors, I will report on our work and share with you the reports that we've come up with for 2024. 2024 has been an extremely intense year, as your CEO reminded us all of, with the financial restructuring that has considerably reduced the debt; and the disposal of hypermarkets and supermarkets, the disposal of Éxito in Colombia; and also with the development and implementation of the renewal 2028 plan that sets high ambitions for the group. All of these operations have really mobilized the teams of the financial management to make sure that it would be fully integrated in the financial statements. Let me remind you that our work is -- occurs on a permanent basis. We look at risks that may have an impact on the quality of data that are both financial and of an accounting nature. We look at the control environment and in particular the key operational controls. To that end, we really observed the constant efforts made by all -- management, all senior management, to help with the efficiency. And thanks to all of the data collected, we can have pretty wide coverage. Throughout our work, we give feedback to your senior management and the Audit Committee to -- so as to share our analysis and points of attention. The reports have been made available to you since March 24 in the report and the registration document that has been shared with the AMF, the financial markets authorities. Let me sum them up. In Pages 140 to Page 143, there's a report on the financial statements, unqualified opinion on the financial statements, no reservations. We looked at to -- assets and liabilities. We looked at annual impairment. And we analyzed the consistency of the cash flow with regards to the mid-term plans and to make sure that it -- there was a good fit with the strategic plan. And we also had our assessment experts look at this. And we looked at the RCF and the term loan. Total amount is [ EUR 2.171 billion ] applicable as of 30th of September 2025, after a covenant holiday period of an 18-month length after financial restructuring. As part of our audit, we looked at the control system and cash flow provisions, calculation of financial ratios and compliance with financial covenants. We looked at the modalities of the aggregates that were used to calculate these ratios. And we looked at the calculations of financial ratio as well as cash flow provision for the 12 -- the forthcoming 12 months. We also looked at compensation and benefits for corporate officers that you can find in the report of the Board of Directors on governance. We've also been able to attest to the accuracy of this information. And we made sure also that the format, which is an electronic European format for reporting, has been complied with. Let's move on now to the report on the consolidated financial statements as you'll find on Pages 49 to 53 of the registration document. We've identified 4 key points in the audit. First has to do with goodwill impairment tests, representing EUR 1.602 billion. There is an annual impairment test. Our work has -- had to do with cash -- free cash flows, looking at the understanding of the strategic priorities but also the context for the different brands; also discount rates and growth rates, with our specialists. And we also looked at sensitivity scenarios together with the financial management. Second key points of the audit had to do with financial ratios under bank covenants for the RCF and the term loan. And we've actually conducted the same study as what I've detailed before. We've looked, we've measured assets and liabilities of discontinued hypermarket and supermarket operations, which is the biggest chunk of assets and liabilities that you'll find in the France retail category, EUR 12 million and EUR 264 million (sic) [ EUR 264 million and EUR 12 million ], respectively. We've also valued receivables in respect of supplier rebates. And we've looked also at the judgments made by management with regards to the different allocation; the net amounts that still need to be cashed out with regards to the restructuring plans, contract being terminated and commitments made as part of the discontinued activities. And we deemed the information to be accurate, including in the appendices. And there was also the advantages granted to suppliers. We worked on reconciliation of commercial terms with the contracts signed with suppliers and, finally, reconciling GMVs in 2024 confirmed by suppliers with data that we find in the purchasing systems in the group. We have no observations to make on the accuracy and truthfulness the information that we were able to review. They are -- it matches the consolidated financial statements. And this consolidated financial statement also complies with the ESEF electronic format. Now moving to the regulated agreements that you'll find on Page 174, 175. There is no new agreements that has been authorized in the financial year. Then it mentions 3 agreements that have already been approved by the general meeting that will be renewed: the shareholders' agreement signed between Casino, Guichard Perrachon and GPA; and the pre-agreement relating to the sale of the Casino Group's interest in Éxito. These 2 agreements have ceased to have any effect, following the announced sale on -- in January 2024. And finally, the agreement relating to the acquisition by Casino, Guichard Perrachon of Cnova shares. And the pledge agreement, that was executed in -- on November 30, 2023, with payments of 80% of the price. And the remaining balance of the acquisition price was paid on the 27th of March 2024, thus ending the pledge agreement. That's all from me. Over to you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Statutory Auditor. It's very clear. And now we have on stage Mr. Rémi Vinit from KPMG for the statutory auditor's report regarding sustainability information. In compliance with our CSR commitment and mentioned by Philippe Palazzi, a commitment made in front of you last year, I wanted this report to be made, wanted to have a report on our sustainability work. Please welcome KPMG on stage.

Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I will now introduce the summary of our certification report for information regarding sustainability that are mentioned in Chapter 3.3 on the group's management report. This report are 3 distinctive parts, each corresponding to one aspect of our assignment as planned by the commercial legislation and by the guidelines of the audit authority. Section 1, compliance with ESRS, is the information standards in terms of sustainability of the process implemented by the company to determine the information reported in compliance with the requirements to consult the works council as provided for in the French labor code. With the checks we made, we have not seen any mistakes, omissions or important inconsistency regarding the compliance of the process implemented by the company with ESRS. As for the consultation of the works council, we can tell you that, on the date of this report, it has not taken place yet. Without questioning the conclusions expressed formally, we want to draw your attention to information mentioned in the paragraph "the first implementation for the sustainability." It highlights how the process was implemented by the company for the first year of implementation of CSRD to determine information to be reported and the absence of established practices, to deepen the analysis of the impacts and opportunities, the value chain. All the elements that we focused on were on identifying the stakeholders, the impacts of risks and opportunities as well as the assessment of the impacts' materiality and financial materiality. As for section 2, compliance of sustainability information included in the group's management report with the requirements of Article L. 233-28-4 of the French commercial code, including the ESRS, we have not spotted any mistakes regarding the compliance of this information included in the group's management report. Without questioning the former conclusion, we'd like to draw your attention on the information mentioned in the report of the group's management and the line that the company has not published some qualitative or quantitative information, given the specific context of a restructuring and operational restructuring of the group in 2024; the nonavailability of some information pertaining to the value chain; and the fact that they retain scope for indicators that is not including the discontinued activities or activities for which the group has lost [ controlled ] in 2024. The elements that were specifically studied were the information supplied on behalf of climate change plus published information for the assessment of greenhouse gases emissions. And finally, section 3 was on the compliance with the reporting requirements set out in Article 8 of Regulation EU, taxonomy. Based on our verifications, we have not seen any mistakes, omissions or important inconsistency regarding the respect of taxonomy. Ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders, I thank you for your attention.

Thank you, Mr. Rémi Dunand, for this summary of your work. And again, it's an opportunity to thank Christophe Piednoël, who is monitoring this aspect in our group. There has been a debate in the group, in the press sometimes regarding the various constraints that Europe is imposing on us regarding sustainability. Well, Casino is meeting its responsibility. And we can present such a very good report, so thank you very much for your conclusions; and the work carried out by our people, with Christophe. Now we are available to you, dear shareholders, to answer your questions and give you the additional information that you would like. It's very -- well, it's easy to do it now. Please raise your hand to the steward and stewardess in the room. And please use the microphones so that we can all hear your questions or comments. And take note of these -- I mean the people who are recording the AGM. So the floor is yours. We do have a question back of the room.

Mr. Chairman and Board of Directors, Mr. CEO, I have 5 questions, 4 pertaining to financial aspects and 1 financial aspects. As for the financial questions: For the real estate part, you have EUR 221 million of Quatrim debt. How many real estate assets can you monetize? First question. Second question, GPA in Brazil, you still have a 20% share, [ EUR 70 million ]. What do you intend to do? Why are you still keeping this shareholdership in Brazil? Third question, relevanC. You sold it to Intermarché not long ago. What was the monetization of relevanC? Fourth financial question, level of debt. You decreased this level of debt. You have a CapEx plan of 1.2 billion over a period of 3 years. How do you plan to finance this investment plan? And the last question, an operational question. I know that the CEO, before, worked for METRO. I'd like to know if there are opportunities for synergies in METRO in Germany. There it's 4x as big, and that could benefit the Group Casino in France.

We can start with your last question and give the floor to Philippe Palazzi. And then Angélique Cristofari will come back to your financial questions, and she'll decide what will be the order of her answers. So Philippe, regarding possible synergies with METRO or other types of synergies, but the question was on possible synergies with METRO.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you, sir, for your questions. Now as for the synergies with the group METRO, we do have synergies. For purchase with Intermarché, we are affiliated with Aura Retail. It means that we are more powerful when negotiating with large companies. I know the METRO group very well. I spent more than 25 years working for this group. It is representing nearly 30 billion in sales, net sales. We are not disregarding any synergy possibilities [ with individual ] partners. Nothing has been planned or written down now with METRO, but we are very much attentive to possible opportunities.

Thank you very much for this information. Madam CFO, 4 questions about the debt level -- well, 2 questions about the debt level and related to CapEx and questions on our participation in Brazil. So you have the floor.

Thank you. Thank you, sir, for your questions. As for real estate, as of today, after the communications we made about the lowering of our debt level, in April, for the benefit of Quatrim, we have less than EUR 500 million in real estate value based on the assessment made every year whether it is in the Quatrim scope or outside. As for GPA, since we decided to discontinue or sale part of GPA, now our assets are available for sale, 22.5%. Well, we'll still have to make a decision when the market is offering satisfactory conditions for us. So there's no urgency. The market will decide upon our selling of these shares. As for relevanC, we do not communicate any results connected to this sale. And as for the CapEx plan, the key question for you apparently, it will be financed today by liquidities and cash flow. In the guidance, we communicated the improvement plan for our cash flow throughout -- or till 2028, so there's a series of elements and some residual situations regarding our store fleet.

Thank you very much for the answers. Other questions or comments? Thank you, sir, for being the first. It's never easy to ask the first questions, and you started with very concrete questions. Thank you. So who is going to be next for questions or one question? It can be questions connected to our Renouveau 2028 plan. We spent quite some time on this plan; and on the new concepts for the new brands -- for the brands. So speech is free, so please...

So you have been with this company for a year. Can you assess the stock price? It lost 90%. And what's, according to you, the evolution of this stock price with the plan you developed for 2028? I would like to come back to governance. You announced EUR 665,000 (sic) [ EUR 650,000 ] of attendance fees for 10 members of the Board of the Directors. That's EUR 65,000 per person. Have you updated the average with the compensation of the group's employees? Can you see a divergence between Spar and Vival? Each one has its own brand, so any opportunity of merging the two? And I do hope that 2028 -- or the plan for 2028 will be a good start. Because for the first quarters, we can't see it, but with the EUR 100 million covenants, do you plan to be at a ratio of 8x debt-on-equity, I mean, by 31st (sic) [ 30th ] of September?

Thank you. You closely monitored all that. So there are several questions, in fact, but that's very nice. This is the object of our discussion really. We can say a word about the -- we can talk about the compensation of the officials. And there's a sort of question about the stock price. And everything depends on the number of shareholders that we will have, so a -- stock price as it is today is not satisfactory, of course. And we will be able to give you information connected to the financial analysis we can make and the performance. I mean what we can say about the covenants and the 2025 EBITDA.

Now as for the explanations or analysis regarding the evolution in the share price. Well, the group is just out of a restructuring phase. And its shareholdership now beyond the control shareholders is made of debt and hedge funds, former debtors who have become shareholders, so in our shareholdership, we do not have traditional investors. We have funds that do act in an opportunistic way depending on their profitability level at specific dates. And there are short-term investors really. Now they can be opportunistic shareholders. Volumes are always reduced in terms of exchange. It's seldom over 0.25% of share capital per day, so it's very limited. So you see so little floating being exchanged. It has an impact, of course, on the price share. We reactivated a liquidity contract with BNP Paribas very recently. And with their resources, they're in the order book, but everything is connected to the capital structure and to our shareholdership to date, with no traditional investors. In November, when the plan -- well, the Renouveau 2028 plan was communicated, there was an increase in such a trend. Our analysis of the situation is that maybe the market is a bit shy regarding our capacity to execute the plan given the current financial situation is very costly on the group's cash flow. Beyond Casino, the market, our sector, has been suffering from an unfavorable reading from the markets. In France at least, as it is our activity scope, volumes, as I said, already are not back. Consumption is still a little bit dull. I don't want to talk about the economic situation in France here, but our sector is showing an overcapacity, so the challenge for our business sector and all the questions surely have an impact on the Casino share price. Now as for its evolution, well, I cannot make any comment upon it really. I will not answer that question.

Well, we have to use a microphone, I'm sorry, because that's for the quality of our recording. So please let the CFO finish her presentation.

Now as for the covenants. To meet the test of September -- we still have some tests. April is a -- is favorable with the delaying for the Easter holidays. But 2 quarters that are strong in activity given the seasonality of our business sector. And I explained it in my presentation. Our financial documentation can improve the EBITDA. There will be the accounting EBITDA that will be communicated. And it can be -- you can add between 15% and 30% of its value if we can show that what we add to EBITDA will mean savings to be made in the 18 months post publication. So savings for 2026 till the Q1 2027.

Now the other question, that was more for Philippe, regarding Spar, Vival and possible merger. Any interest for a merger here between Spar and Vival? It's how I understood your question, sir.

Thank you for all your questions. Now for Casino France, we have Spar, Vival and Casino. When we look at Casino, we have several brands, in particular Casino Shop, Casino #toutprès. These brands will be grouped under a single brand, Casino. We have already started doing so recently. We opened a store bearing the Casino brand in Lyon, close to the station. Spar and Vival have 2 different positioning that we want to keep much beyond the restructuring plan. These brands are known and recognized by the consumers. These are really affinity brands and our franchisees are very much attached to these brands. We are currently working on a new Spar concept. There will be -- we will have a pilot store next June. And Spar is -- as a brand is positioned on resort locations by the sea or in the mountains. And we really want to keep these differentiating them in between, what can be seen in -- sea and by -- and in the mountains, but we'll know more in June.

Now in the discussion regarding financial aspects, if you want to add some information -- no. Is it okay? So I can't answer that question regarding the compensation of the officials. I can tell you that is a maximum envelope, EUR 650,000. It is not fully used. You have comparison elements. These have been made in -- these have been made available in the documents. I think it is around Page 379. And as for the breakdown of compensations, well, what Elisabeth presented earlier on, these are the compensation elements that have been approved or were approved during the previous AGM. Do you want to add something?

Thank you for all these explanations. They're very relevant. And thank you, sir, for the -- making the difference between Spar and Vival, sea the mountains for Spar. As for the shares, given the mid-term plan, are you planning for grouping the shares, so as to give better visibility to Group Casino? And can you confirm that the action is sold short on the market?

No, no. No operations to group shares to date and not much -- not many operations.

You're saying that there's overcapacity in our business sector. It means that the French people buy less, eat less. How can you analyze this?

Well, it's in terms of offer really. Demography is still very weak in France. And the offer is increasing more rapidly than the population. That's the only point I made in my comments.

If I may add something about consumption. Consumption of the French people is switching from traditional hyper- and supermarkets located away from city centers. [ EUR 8 billion ] have been moved towards convenience stores. That's for bakers and so on, okay? So people are coming back to city centers. And the new generations are buying the last moment, I would say. And they tend to use home delivery with Deliveroos and similar, so there's a change in paradigm here. That's why Group Casino and for the Renouveau 2028 scheme is reinventing it. We want to focus on ready-to-go catering [ per brands ] in order to meet all these needs. It is a new basic trend in consumption in France. And it has already been seen in other countries, in the U.S. or in other European or Asian countries more specifically.

Thank you. We have another question, please. Please, sir.

Individual shareholder. I'd like to come back on the business model. You explained it last year. And today, you said that the objective is to become the leader in convenience stores with the different brands; and locations by the sea, in the countryside, the city, in the mountains, but you also have Cdiscount. Even if it is convenience because it is in our mobile phone, but it is another business model than a food store. Monoprix, the Monoprix City stores, sometimes [ full is not daily ], but you find decoration, house equipment, textile and fashion in these stores, so it's another type of competition. Don't you think you're going to lose your soul if you are to maintain these 3 models? Will you be successful in betting on convenience while progressing on the 2 other sectors that we can see in the Group Casino?

So Mr. CEO, the group being multichannel. Can we be the champion of convenience and be a multichannel at the same time? If I understood the question well.

Thank you, sir. Thank you for your question. I don't want to use the word leader, but I just want to say that we're the best. To be the leader often means to be the first, but I'd rather be the first and the best. That is to bring not just a size approach but a service approach. We are talking about convenience, proximity in terms of location. We have to be at the right location at the right time, covering the needs with opening hours that are often 7 days a week for all our stores. And convenience and proximity, that's also in terms of relationship between our employees and stores; our franchisees with their clients, customers and final consumers. Monoprix is fully part and parcel of the convenience approach. It is really on par with Franprix, Naturalia, Spar, Vival and Casino. For Monoprix City you mentioned -- well, you really know the group well. A part is allocated to decoration and fashion, but it is still convenience. And the various definitions of hyper-, supermarkets and convenience stores are essentially due to size. Hypermarkets were defined according to their square meters; supermarkets having fewer square meters; and as for convenience store, being around 400 square meters. And this conversation around size is no longer relevant given the current type of consumption. It is connected to what we bring to the consumers and the concept we want to offer. Monoprix City is fully part and parcel of that. We are more and more also developing the Monoprix City part with decoration, house decoration, and fashion. When we look at the market today, we can see a lot of our competitors closing down in the textile industry as competition is coming from China. So we do have a trump card to play here. One example: A company of shirts for men is filing for bankruptcy. And we have just started not long ago competitive shirts, so we are one solution in the city center for convenience stores, whether it is for food, for beauty, textile, fashion and decoration. As for Cdiscount. That was the other part of your question. Well, indeed in terms of geographical proximity, well, it is the closest to us. It is in our phone, so it is very much complementary to all our activities. It is in addition to our offer, the group's offer. And if you see what we can see at the global level now: We are the only French marketplace that can compete with the American ones, and we have a real role to play. And given the recovery in summer 2024 regarding the positioning of the brand, it is bearing fruit, as we saw in the last quarter. That is to say for Christmas period. And for the Black Friday period, we could see the results in the marketplace in terms of sales being very positive for the first quarter. So all this is really complementary, so we can really develop all these models side by side. And to do this, I'm supported by all our brand managers. One final information about convenience. What the customer can see should be differentiated per brand. We are the only group to have on the same street a Monoprix store, a Franprix or a Naturalia store. This is really unique and it's something we should continue developing. So what is to be seen by the consumer is to be continued and what cannot be seen by the consumer is to be improved, in order to improve our positioning and profitability [ infine ].

Thank you very much, regarding this commercial strategy. It echoed really the growth relays that we, well, presented earlier on. Other questions? Yes. Sir, you have the floor. So wait for the microphone, please. Please, sir.

My question is an -- is of an operational nature and it's for the CEO. Mr. Palazzi, you recently said in recent interviews, and you just said it again, that more than 90% of the network of stores now is in the hands of franchisees. So it is on the shoulders of these entrepreneurs that the vitality of the group lies. And having said that: They say that they are worried. And when 95% of the business is conducted by independent entrepreneurs that talk about their worries and their malaise, is it not a cause for concern? Franchisees often talk of being looked down upon or seeing some contempt, and so my question is as follows. Do you really believe that the Casino Group, bearing in mind its vulnerability, can survive any secession on the part of franchisees that -- because of their disgruntlement?

I think Philippe will tell you about our model.

Thank you, sir. Your question is absolutely key because we are a wholesale retailer and we're mostly a B2B operator. So 95% of our stores are franchise stores. So since I joined the group, I've worked hard at transforming this group so that it -- we could meet the needs of our franchisees. So you talked of a competitor in the retail industry. The contracts we have signed with our franchisees are certified by the French federation for franchise, which is not the case of the competitor you named. It is very important to us and to me in particular that our franchisees be independent, truly independent; and these contracts that we sign with them guarantee that independence. They will go on sourcing with other suppliers for several reasons. First reason is that the local assortment develops more and more; and we cannot deliver from a logistics platform that may be in Lyon, for example, to franchisees that are in the greater Eastern or greater [ out-Western ] region. From an economic and an environmental perspective, it would be wrong. And that is why they need to still be independent. The format on which we are working for Spar, for example, at the moment, that format gives quite a lot of leeway to -- and room to local assortment, local product range. And the way we set up merchandising for the stores gives some room for maneuver to franchisees to develop local products. So there are 75% of purchasing from our franchisees by our procurement and purchasing department. They are an integral part of our work on prices, on product range and assortment. And I have asked our existing franchisees to help us select the forthcoming franchisees. Does it mean that we do everything perfectly? No, but this partnership with our franchisees is very important to us. Let me just give you one example which is very hands on: We've observed in a small village in the Southeast of France, close to Marseille, called [indiscernible]. We saw a franchisee and a Vival shop that learned that in the same village potentially a competitor might open a shop, a competitor from another retailer, so we helped that franchisee to organize a petition with the villagers. And we also gave them legal support. And yesterday, I had a message thanking us because the competitor finally decided not to open a shop in that village. So this interpersonal relationship is very important for me. So thank you for your question because it's really 90% of the time, of our time, that we dedicate with all the brand teams, working with our franchisees. And not only with our franchisees, as it happens, but the brands, we also are at the service of. I'm thinking of Sherpa. They are not a franchisee of ours. They're a cooperative, but we supply them. And I visit them on a regular basis. So I really want our work to be at the service of the -- of independence of grocers. And it's very important to us.

And if I may. The value chain of our company and the relations we have with our franchisees are integral to that. And that is part and parcel of our ESG policy and the CSRD commitments that we have made and that we keep making and that we try to make as visible as possible to you. So as Philippe said, it is all very consistent with our CSR commitments. Thank you for your question. And I hope we gave you a complete-enough answer. Do we have other questions? We could have one more question, if I look at the schedule. I'd love to answer one last question if there is one. Yes, sir. Well, so you'll have the last word in terms of question.

Coming back to Cdiscount. You talked about it being part of the convenience strategy, but why can't Cdiscount seem to be more attractive? Because sales are dropping. Secondly, do you intend to develop in French-speaking countries, Belgium, Switzerland, to compete with the American leader competing with Cdiscount? You talked about independence. Do you have sort of a fora where people can exchange on "how that product is proving very popular?" So could we maybe roll it out in different -- in the whole region or in neighboring countries?

So 2 final questions. No worries. I think Philippe will take these.

Yes. Thank you very much. I will start with Cdiscount. Well, the role of Cdiscount is not, for the time being, to develop in other countries. We focus on the French market because there's a big-enough market and room for growth for Cdiscount. And to come back to your other question, about the other brands and local product: We help our franchisees at -- when they validate local products, so as to make food security and food safety. And what's more, when local products prove very popular, we try, of course, to extend the selling of that product on a regional basis and even widen that. We might be the only convenience-focused group that is in permanent contact with our franchisees in the field. And this is the feedback we get from franchisees: They feel that we listen to their teams. And that is quite different from other wholesalers that are nowhere to be seen locally. And we try to help them work in their whole catchment area and help them extend their catchment area. And they always come up with the first name of the sales force person that is in contact with them. So being in close contact with our franchisees is essential for the future of our franchisees and the future of our group. If our franchisees make profits, we will make profits. This is the way we see our work.

Thank you very much, Philippe, for this concluding answer. I now suggest that we move on to the vote on the resolutions. I'll give the floor to Ms. Béatrice Davourie, who is first going to share the final quorum that came on her desk a few minutes ago. And there'll be a brief presentation telling you how to use the voting machine. Thank you.

Well, first, let me share the quorum, final quorum. So shareholders present representing by proxy or working online are [ 19 67 ]. 272,601,516 shares are held by them. That represents [ 68.05% ] of voting rights. That is 272,000 of voting rights for the ordinary general meeting. There are 969 shareholders present holding 272,601,477 shares. That's for the extraordinary meeting. They represent [ 68.5% ] of voting rate -- rights. That is [ 272,606,252 ] voting rights. So unless a shareholder insists on it, I will not read the resolutions in details. With regards to how you may use the voting machine, you have to make sure, first and foremost, that your smart card is correctly inserted. When the vote is open, simply press the key corresponding to your choice. 1 is for. 2 is for against, and 3 is to abstain. If the -- if you see "received" on the screen, it means that your vote has been taken into account. If you see no such message on the screen, we would recommend that you immediately say so to one of the hostesses in the room. If you want to correct your choice, press on any of the other 2 keys before the vote is closed, even if your initial vote has already been taken into account. For each resolution, there will be 15 seconds for you to vote. We will now vote on the resolutions. So first resolution, with the approval of the 2024 parent company and consolidated financial statements. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is now closed. This first resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Second resolution, approval of the consolidated financial statements as of the 31st of December 2024. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is now closed. Second resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Third resolution, allocation of profit for the financial year. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is now closed. Third resolution has been adopted by majority of voters. Fourth and -- fourth resolution, reelection of the 2 -- of the director, Philippe Palazzi. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is now closed. The fourth resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Fifth resolution, approving the renewal of the term of Ms. Athina Onassis. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is now closed. The resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Sixth resolution, approval of information referred to in Article L. 22-10-9 I of the French commercial code, relating to the compensation of corporate officers paid or -- paid in or granted for 2024. Voting is now open. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Seventh resolution, approval of the total compensation and benefits of any kind paid to Laurent Pietraszewski in 2024 or granted to him in respect of that year, in his capacity as Chairman of the Board of Directors as of 27th of March 2024. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by majority of voters. Eighth resolution, approval of the amendment to the compensation policy for Philippe Palazzi, CEO as from 27th of March 2024, in consideration of his position. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution is adopted by majority of voters. Ninth resolution, approval of the total compensation and benefits of any kind paid to Philippe Palazzi in 2024 or granted to him in respect of that year, in his capacity as Chief Executive Officer as of 27th of March 2024. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. 10th resolution, approval of the compensation policy for the Chairman of the Board of Directors in respect of financial year 2025 in consideration of his position. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been approved by a majority of voters. 11th resolution, approval of the compensation policy for the Chief Executive Officer in respect of financial year 2025 in consideration of his position. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been approved by a majority of voters. 12th resolution, approval of the compensation policy for the directors in respect of financial year 2025. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. 13th resolution, authorization for the company to buy back its own shares. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority. We are now going to vote on resolutions pertaining to extraordinary GM: 14th resolution, statutory amendment to Articles 18 of Articles of Association -- Article 18. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. The resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. 15th resolution, modifications to Articles 25, 27, 28 and 29 of the Articles of Association for compliance with modified legislation and corrections. Voting is opened. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. And finally, 16th resolution, powers for formalities. Voting is closed (sic) [ opened ]. [Voting]

Voting is closed. Resolution has been adopted by a majority of voters. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Legal Counsel. For this key part of our AGM, all the resolution has been adopted. I want to thank you, ladies and gentlemen, dear shareholders. No other subject being on the agenda, we can close the meeting. I want to thank you for your attendance. And I wish you a very good day, for those who are fortunate enough to have a long weekend as well. But our stores will be open next Friday; and still on the mobile phone, for Cdiscount. Thank you very much. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]