PARIS (Reuters) - A pick up in food purchases triggered by the coronavirus pandemic extended a revenue bounce at French supermarket group Casino (PA:CASP) in the second quarter, and the group said online sales were still booming even as lockdowns ease.
The retailer's net sales on a same store basis and excluding currency effects grew 10.4% in the April to June period, when its big markets like France were still under a government-enforced shutdown to fight the outbreak.
That was up from 6.4% sales growth in the first quarter.
Casino, which has been selling assets to reduce its debt, reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 1.07 billion euros for the first six months of the year, up 4% at constant exchange rates.
It said measures to protect employees from the virus, including installing plexiglass barriers at check-out desks, and extra staff bonuses had added to costs in the period.