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Casino Group: 2022 Full Year Results

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2022 FULL-YEAR RESULTS

Consolidated net sales at €33.6bn, up +5.2% on a same-store basis1, including €14.2bn for France Retail (+1.5%), €1.6bn for Cdiscount (-20.5%) and €17.8bn in Latam (+12.3%)
Consolidated EBITDA at €2,508m (stable vs. 2021) and consolidated trading profit at €1,117m (stable vs. 2021 in H2, -6% over the year)

  • In France, EBITDA for the retail banners was €1,199m (-2% in H2, -6% over the year) and trading profit was €421m (stable in H2, -12% over the year), with an increase in trading profit in H2 in the Parisian and convenience banners
  • Cdiscount: shift in the business mix to focus on fast-growing activities (marketplace, Advertising Services, Octopia). EBITDA at €54m and trading profit at -€42m, a deterioration compared to 2021 due to the post-Covid market environment, with a sequential improvement in H2 in line with cost savings plans (€75m in full-year savings)
  • In Latam, EBITDA was €1,186m (+19% in H2, +15% over the year)2 and trading profit was €677m (+17% in H2, +11% over the year)2, driven by excellent performances from Assaí and Grupo Éxito

Deleveraging in France:

  • Active management of debt maturities, with €1,062m3 in debt repayments and redemptions in 2022 (bonds, bank debt and short-term debt)
  • Disposal plan in France: €4.1bn in disposals; the Group confirms its aim to complete the full €4.5bn plan by end-2023
  • Monetisation of assets held in Latin America: sale of 10% of Assaí in November 2022 and new plan to sell a further stake for at least $600m
  • France net debt4 reduced by -€339m to €4.5bn at end-2022 (vs. €4.9bn at end-2021)

Consolidated net debt at €6.4bn, up from €5.9bn in 2021 due to the increase in Assaí’s debt (+€0.9bn) linked to its expansion plan

2023 priorities for France

  • €250m cost reduction plan in retail banners
  • €190m inventory reduction plan
  • Expansion plan with 1,000 store openings in convenience formats and further development of the franchise network
  • Debt decrease

In France

France Retail
The Group continued to develop its buoyant formats:

  • Renewed growth for Parisian banners and convenience stores (same-store sales growth1 of +6.6% for convenience stores, +3.4% for Franprix and +11.2% for Monop’), in line with the upturn in tourism and consumer spending in the Paris region
  • Strong growth in convenience formats: success of the expansion plan, with 879 store openings (Franprix, Vival, Spar, etc.) and supermarkets joining the franchise network
  • Growth in food E-commerce of +17% over the year, vindicating the focus on home delivery and partnerships forged with world leaders (Amazon and Ocado)
  • Development of a discount offering (Leader Price) adapted to the inflationary environment in hypermarkets and supermarkets (+95% in Q4) and in the franchise network

EBITDA margin for the retail banners came in at 9.9% in H2 (8.4% for the year). Trading profit for the retail banners was stable in the second half, with an increase in trading profit and the trading margin at Monoprix, Franprix and Casino convenience stores.
Cdiscount5
The transformation of the business model continued, with progress on growth and profitability drivers: (i) increase in the marketplace share, to 52% of GMV in 2022 (+6 pts), (ii) growth in Advertising Services (+5% year on year, x1.8 vs. 2019), with the deployment of the AI-based CARS platform, and (iii) acceleration of B2B services with Octopia (+66% year on year).
The swift implementation of the cost savings plan led to a sequential improvement in EBITDA during the year after a difficult first half (EBITDA at €15m in H1 and €39m in H2).
Disposal plan in France
By end-2022, a total of €4.1bn in disposals had been made under the disposal plan launched in 2018. The Group remains confident in its ability to complete its €4.5bn disposal plan in France by the end of 2023.

Net debt in France
Net debt in France6 fell to €4.5bn at 31 December 2022 (from €4.9bn at the end of 2021), mainly due to the early repayment of the entire bank debt subscribed by Segisor (initial maturity July 2023) using proceeds from the partial disposal of Assaí.
The Group met the covenants7 contained in its revolving credit facility, with gross debt headroom of €270m for the secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments covenant, and EBITDA headroom of €115m for the EBITDA after lease payments/net finance costs covenant.

In Latin America

In Latin America, EBITDA was up +11.9% for the year (+14.9% excluding tax credits):

  • Excellent +41.0% increase in Assaí EBITDA (+49.4% excluding tax credits)
  • Grupo Éxito EBITDA up +8.7%
  • Decline in GPA EBITDA amid efforts to reposition the business model following the sale of Extra hypermarkets

The Group continues to reorganise its operations in Brazil, with good progress on the conversion plan for the Extra hypermarkets (47 conversions to the cash & carry format in 2022, conversion plan completed at GPA for the 23 hypermarkets not sold to Assaí).
The Grupo Éxito spin-off was approved by GPA’s Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of 14 February 2023 and is expected to be completed in the first half of 2023, subject to obtaining the necessary authorisations. Following the spin-off, the Group would hold interests in three separate listed assets, opening up various monetisation options for these assets.
In this context, the Group sold a 10.44% stake in Assaí for approximately €491m in November 2022 and is currently looking at a new plan to sell a further stake for approximately $600m. This amount could be increased depending on market conditions.

2022 Key Figures

In €m   H2 2021 H2 2022 Change Change at CER   2021 2022 Change Change at CER
Net sales – Group
o/w France Retail
o/w Cdiscount
o/w Latam
  16,069
7,207
1,083
7,778
17,707
7,270
825
9,611
+10.2%
+0.9%
-23.8%
+23.6%
+4.0%
+0.9%
-23.8%
+10.8%
  30,549
14,071
2,031
14,448
33,610
14,205
1,620
17,785
+10.0%
+1.0%
-20.2%
+23.1%
+3.7%
+1.0%
-20.2%
+9.7%
EBITDA – Group
o/w France Retail
Margin (%)
      o/w Retail banners
Margin (%)
o/w Cdiscount
Margin (%)
o/w Latam (excl. tax credits)8
Margin (%)
  1,423
782
10.8%
735
10.2%
57
5.3%
563
7.2%
1,439
728
10.0%
721
9.9%
39
4.7%
672
7.0%
+1.1%
-6.8%
-83 bps
-1.9%
-28 bps
-32.0%
-56 bps
+19.2%
-25 bps
-3.6%
-7.0%
-84 bps
-1.9%
-28 bps
-32.0%
-56 bps
+7.5%
-21 bps
  2,516
1,351
9.6%
1,273
9.1%
105
5.2%
1,032
7.1%
2,508
1,268
8.9%
1,199
8.4%
54
3.3%
1,186
6.7%
-0.3%
-6.2%
-68 bps
-5.9%
-61 bps
-48.7%
-184 bps
+14.9%
-48 bps
-5.5%
-6.5%
-71 bps
-5.9%
-61 bps
-48.7%
-184 bps
+2.8%
-45 bps
Trading profit – Group
o/w France Retail
Margin (%)
      o/w Retail banners
Margin (%)
o/w Cdiscount
Margin (%)
o/w Latam (excl. tax credits)4
Margin (%)
  746
367
5.1%
336
4.7%
12
1.1%
346
4.4%
737
341
4.7%
335
4.6%
(10)
-1.2%
406
4.2%
-1.2%
-7.1%
-40 bps
-0.4%
-6 bps
n.m.
-231 bps
+17.3%
-22 bps
-2.9%
-7.5%
-42 bps
-0.4%
-6 bps
n.m.
-231 bps
+14.1%
+14 bps
  1,186
530
3.8%
479
3.4%
18
0.9%
610
4.2%
1,117
482
3.4%
421
3.0%
(42)
-2.6%
677
3.8%
-5.9%
-9.1%
-37 bps
-12.0%
-44 bps
n.m.
350 bps
+10.9%
-42 bps
-12.1%
-10.0%
-41 bps
-12.0%
-44 bps
n.m.
350 bps
-0.5%
-40 bps

The financial statements for 2021 have been restated following the retrospective application of the IFRS IC agenda decision – Configuration or Customisation Costs in a Cloud Computing Arrangement.
The Board of Directors met on 9 March 2023 to approve the statutory and consolidated financial statements for 2022. The auditors have completed their audit procedures on the financial statements and are in the process of issuing their report.

2022 FULL-YEAR RESULTS

In €m 2021 2022 Change
Net sales 30,549 33,610 +3.8% (organic), +5.2% (same-store)
EBITDA 2,516 2,508 -0.3%
Trading profit 1,186 1,117 -5.9%
of which tax credits in Brazil 28 0 (-3.6% excluding tax credits)
Underlying net profit (loss)
from continuing operations, Group share
89 (102) Includes a one-off accounting tax charge of -€240m in 2022
Net profit (loss) from continuing
operations, Group share
(280) (279) Excludes the gain on the sale of Assai recognized in equity
Net profit (loss) from discontinued
operations, Group share
(254) (37) No longer any impact from the Leader Price sale
Net profit (loss),
Group share
(534) (316)  

Consolidated net sales amounted to €33.6 billion in 2022, up +5.2% on a same-store basis1, up +3.8% on an organic basis9 and up +10.0% as reported after taking into account the effects of exchange rates (+6.4%) and fuel (+0.3%), the calendar effect (-0.2%) and changes in scope (-0.3%).
In the France Retail scope, net sales rose +1.5% on a same-store basis, driven by a dynamic performance in buoyant formats. Including Cdiscount, same-store growth in France came to a negative 2.6%.
E-commerce (Cdiscount) gross merchandise volume (GMV) was €3.5bn10, with an increase in the marketplace contribution to 52% (+6 pts vs. 2021)2.
Sales in Latin America were up by +12.3% on a same-store basis1, mainly driven by the very good performance in the Cash & Carry segment (Assaí) and Grupo Éxito.

Consolidated EBITDA came to €2,508m, a change of -0.3% including currency effects and -5.5% at constant exchange rates.
France EBITDA (including Cdiscount) amounted to €1,321m, including €1,268m on the France Retail scope and €54m for Cdiscount. EBITDA for the retail banners (France Retail excluding GreenYellow and property development) was €1,199m (vs. €1,273m in 2021). The EBITDA margin, at 8.4%, improved in the second half of the year (9.9%) thanks to renewed growth at Monoprix, Franprix and convenience stores. EBITDA came to €32m for property development and to €37m for GreenYellow (including the impact resulting from the loss of control as of 18 October 2022).
E-commerce EBITDA was €54m (vs. €105m in 2021), with a sequential improvement in H2 2022 driven by the success of the cost savings plan (€39m in H2 after €15m in H1).
EBITDA for Latin America increased by +14.9% year on year excluding tax credits, driven by Assaí (+49.4% excluding tax credits). Including tax credits11 (€28m in 2021 and €0m in 2022), EBITDA came out at €1,186m, a rise of +11.9%.

Consolidated trading profit came to €1,117m, a change of -5.9% including currency effects (-3.6% excluding tax credits) and of -12.1% at constant exchange rates (-5.2% excluding tax credits).
In France (including Cdiscount), trading profit stood at €440m, including €482m on the France Retail scope and -€42m for Cdiscount. Trading profit for the retail banners (France Retail excluding GreenYellow and property development) was €421m (vs. €479m in 2021), with a trading margin of 3.0%. Trading profit came to €30m for property development and to €31m for GreenYellow.
E-commerce reported a -€42m trading loss (€18m trading profit in 2021), impacted in particular by the increase in depreciation and amortisation linked to investments made over the last few years to expand Octopia’s operations.
In Latin America, trading profit excluding tax credits was up +10.9% year on year, driven by Assaí (+44% excluding tax credits), in line with business growth. Including tax credits3 (€28m in 2021 and €0m in 2022), trading profit was up +6.1% to €677m.

Underlying net financial expense and net profit, Group share12

Underlying net financial expense for the period was -€935m (-€592m excluding interest on lease liabilities) compared to -€813m in 2021 (-€500m excluding interest on lease liabilities), reflecting a decrease in financial expenses in France linked to debt repayments and redemptions, and an increase in financial expenses in Latin America due to the Assaí investment plan and higher interest rates.

Underlying net loss from continuing operations, Group share totalled -€102m compared with underlying net profit of +€89m in 2021, reflecting lower trading profit owing to business in the first quarter in France and at Cdiscount, a rise in net finance costs in Latin America, and an accounting tax charge (no cash impact) of -€240m relating to the review of capitalizable tax loss carryforwards in France. Diluted underlying earnings per share13 stood at a loss of -€1.38, vs. earnings of €0.49 in 2021.

Other operating income and expenses amounted to -€512m (vs. -€656m in 2021). In France
(including Cdiscount, excluding GreenYellow), other operating income and expenses amounted to -€170m
(-€309m in 2021), an improvement of +€139m primarily due to net capital gains on the France disposal plan. In Latin America, other operating income and expenses amounted to -€336m (-€300m in 2021), reflecting the completion of the sale of Extra hypermarkets to Assaí.

Consolidated net profit (loss), Group share

Profit (loss) from continuing operations, Group share came out at -€279m (vs. -€280m in 2021), which excludes the gain on the sale of Assai recognized in equity.
Net profit (loss) from discontinued operations, Group share came out at a net loss of -€37m in 2022, compared with a net loss of -€254m in 2021, reflecting the end of the impact of the Leader Price sale.
Consolidated net profit (loss), Group share amounted to -€316m vs. -€534m in 2021.

Financial position at 31 December 2022

Consolidated net debt was €6.4bn (vs. €5.9bn at end-2021), including €4.5bn in France14 (€4.9bn at end-2021) and €1.9bn in Latin America (€979m at end-2021). In France3, the reduction in debt was notably due to bond redemptions and to the Segisor repayment (€150m). The increase in debt in Latin America is the result of higher debt at Assaí owing to its investment plan.
At 31 December 2022, the Group’s liquidity in France (including Cdiscount) was €2.4bn, with €434m in cash and cash equivalents and €2.0bn in confirmed undrawn lines of credit, available at any time15. The balance of the unsecured segregated account was €36m at 31 December 2022, enabling the Group to meet its January 2023 debt servicing obligations.

Financial information relating to the covenants

At 31 December 2022, the Group complied with the covenants contained in the revolving credit facility. The ratio of secured gross debt to EBITDA (after lease payments)16 was 3.1x17, within the 3.5x limit, representing debt headroom of €270m and EBITDA headroom of €77m. The ratio of EBITDA (after lease payments) to net finance costs stood at 3.0x (above the required 2.5x), representing EBITDA headroom of €115m.

The Board of Directors will recommend to the 2023 Annual General Meeting not to pay a dividend in 2023 in respect of 2022.

HIGHLIGHTS

France

Retail banners: return to growth in 2022

All brands returned to growth in the second quarter, maintaining the good momentum into the third quarter with a sharp acceleration in Parisian banners (Franprix, Monoprix) in a market shaped by the return of tourists. The fourth quarter remained stable, with a further solid performance in buoyant formats (Parisian formats, convenience and premium) and a more difficult environment for hypermarkets and supermarkets.

Development in buoyant formats

  • Strong growth in convenience stores with 879 store openings, bringing the total number of stores in France to over 9,100. Most of the newly opened stores are based on a franchise development model with low capital intensity and the stores were opened in all geographies with formats adapted to each catchment area and to different types of franchisees: nearly 2,000 Vival (rural areas), 1,100 Franprix and Marché d’à côté (urban areas), and 950 Spar (tourist areas).
  • Conversion of traditional Géant hypermarkets into (i) Casino supermarkets (20 conversions completed in H1 2022) and (ii) Casino #Hyper Frais (51 conversions completed in 2022, with the remaining 10 hypermarkets to be converted to the Casino #Hyper Frais format in H1 2023).

Food E-commerce: confirmation of the validity of focusing development on home delivery and partnerships with world leaders

  • Food E-commerce grew by +17% over the year, outperforming the food E-commerce market thanks to a focus on the fast-growing home delivery format.
  • Ocado partnership: new “spoke” facility opened in Bobigny in Q4, designed to anticipate increases in volumes and ease pressure at the O’logistique automated warehouse
  • Amazon partnership: this partnership was extended to Lille and Nantes in 2022 (joining Paris, Nice, Lyon, Bordeaux, Montpellier and Strasbourg). 

Digital solutions and customer experience: wide deployment in stores

  • More than 600 stores offering automated solutions (automated checkouts, self-scanning with smartphones, Sunday opening in automated mode)
  • Around two-thirds of payments in hypermarkets and supermarkets are now made by smartphone or at an automated checkout. 
  • Continued deployment of the Belive.Ai solution, offering a real-time view of stock-outs in stores (315 supermarkets and hypermarkets equipped to date). 
  • Success of subscriptions18 in Casino, Monoprix and Naturalia banners (launch of the subscription service at Naturalia in August 2022), which had more than 370,000 paying subscribers at end-2022 (vs. 210,000 at end-2021).

Retail media: a new driver of growth and profitability

  • Deployment in 2023 in the Casino and Monoprix banners of Cdiscount’s artificial intelligence-based CARS solution to optimise advertising revenues
  • Ongoing development of B2B solutions with RelevanC

Development of an offer adapted to the cost-of-living crisis

  • Casino Group has adapted its sales strategy to the inflationary environment 
    • Launch of an anti-inflation basket of goods in Casino banners: 500 products for less than €1 and prices locked in for 3 months
    • Fuel promotions in hypermarkets and supermarkets (petrol coupons at 85 euro cents)
    • Fresh produce: new arrivals every week at guaranteed low prices (“Plus bas y’a pas“, or “You won’t find it for less”)
    • Discounted packaging for bulk sales
  • Promotion of Leader Price products
    • +95% growth in sales of Leader Price product sales in hypermarkets/supermarkets in Q4 2022, with the trend continuing into Q1 2023
    • +8.8% growth at Franprix, with a contribution of 8.4% in 2022 (target of 10% in 2023)

In Q1 2023, the Group plans to (i) roll out more than 220 “shops-in-shops” in hypermarkets and supermarkets, (ii) expand 150 corners in supermarkets, and (iii) open 18 Leader Price stores (a total of 199 stores operating under the Leader Price banner at end-2022, including 66 in mainland France and 133 internationally).

Cdiscount19: accelerated transformation to a marketplace model, with strong growth in advertising and B2B revenues

Cdiscount recorded a +1.3 pt increase in its gross margin, to 23.2% of net sales in 2022, with an improvement in the GMV mix focused on the marketplace, whose GMV share was above 50% for the first time (52%, up +6 pts). Revenues generated by the marketplace totalled €191m (-2% vs 2021, +28% vs 2019).

2022 was also marked by the development of Advertising Services (revenues +5% vs. 2021, x1.8 vs. 2019), driven by the proprietary Cdiscount Ads Retail Solution (CARS) platform, which uses AI to optimise retail media revenues (+29% vs. 2021).

Cdiscount also confirmed the valid positioning of its B2B activities, with sales growth gathering pace at Octopia (revenues up +66% vs. 2021), which had 14 new customers in 2022 for its turnkey marketplace solution. At the end of the year, Octopia had a total of 26 customers.

Cdiscount quickly adapted its cost base with a €75m cost savings plan, including €47m in savings generated in 2022 (€29m in SG&A and €18m in capex savings).

EBITDA and trading profit were impacted by the post-Covid downturn, with a sequential improvement between the first and second halves of the year due to the gradual effect of cost reductions.

RelevanC: external development

RelevanC pursued its strategy of external development after having built up its expertise with the Group’s banners:

  • Launch of the white label retail media solution launched with GPA in Brazil
  • Rollout of the personalised white label digital catalogue offer launched with Monoprix

RelevanC continued to forge strategic and ambitious partnerships during the year, which included a new five-year partnership with In The Memory signed in the fourth quarter. Internationally, Latin America continued to enjoy strong momentum after the opening of new offices in Colombia.

Latin America

Assaí stepped up its development in 2022, with (i) a +30%20 increase in net sales, (ii) a +27%2 increase in EBITDA, and (iii) record expansion with the opening of 60 stores over the year, including 47 conversions of Extra hypermarkets, bringing the total number of stores to 263 at the end of 2022.

Grupo Éxito also continued to enjoy strong commercial momentum, with a +21%2 increase in net sales driven by innovative formats and omnichannel. The store base also continued to expand, with 92 store openings during the year.

Following the sale of Extra hypermarkets, GPA is focusing its development on premium and convenience formats.

  

Extra hypermarket conversions
At the end of 2021, GPA and Assaí announced plans for GPA to sell 70 Extra hypermarkets to Assaí with the intention of converting them into the cash & carry format, and for GPA to transform remaining Extra hypermarkets into Mercado Extra, Compre Bem and Pão de Açúcar supermarkets. In 2022, the process of converting Extra hypermarkets to Assaí’s cash & carry format made excellent progress, with a total of 47 conversions during the year. GPA completed the conversion of the 23 hypermarkets that were not sold.

Planned spin-off of Grupo Éxito
Following the success of the Assaí spin-off, a plan to spin off Grupo Éxito was launched on 5 September 2022 in order to realise maximum capital gains on Grupo Éxito. GPA’s Board of Directors announced that it was considering distributing approximately 83% of Grupo Éxito’s capital to its shareholders and retaining a minority stake of around 13% which could be sold at a later date. The Grupo Éxito spin-off was approved by GPA’s Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of 14 February 2023 and should be completed in the first half of 2023, subject to obtaining the necessary authorisations.

Asset monetisation options
On completion of the transaction, Casino Group would hold interests in three separate listed assets in Latin America, opening up various monetisation options. In this respect, in order to accelerate its deleveraging, the Group sold 10.44% of Assaí’s capital for approximately €491m in November 2022 and is currently looking at a new plan to sell a further stake for approximately $600m. This amount could be increased depending on market conditions. At 31 December 2022, Casino Group held 30.5% of Assaí and 40.9% of GPA. Following the spin-off of Grupo Éxito, it would have a direct 34% stake in Grupo Éxito and an indirect stake of 13% in GPA through the minority holding.

A recognised CSR commitment
Casino Group maintained its ESG performance in 2022, with stable non-financial ratings from Moody’s ESG (74/100), MSCI (AA) and FTSE4GOOD (4.1/5).

Climate and environmental protection

  • CDP Climate score of A- (versus B in 2021), with a score of B maintained for forest protection.
  • The Group has pushed ahead with efforts to reduce its carbon emissions: the objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by -38% by 203021 was achieved in 202222. The Group will present its new targets at the end of first-half 2023, aligned with a 1.5 degree trajectory.
    • The Group and its banners are signatories of the Ecowatt Charter and have implemented an energy savings plan (lowering temperatures in stores, switching off illuminated signs, reminding people of environmentally responsible behaviour, etc.).

Responsible consumption

  • Nutritional quality of products: the Nutriscore is displayed on all Casino and Franprix brand products; 80% of the 85 substances identified have been removed.
  • Reduction of plastic packaging: over 1,600 initiatives to reduce packaging have been carried out since 2019.
    • Animal welfare: an animal welfare label has been displayed on Casino Bio, Terre et Saveurs, Monoprix Bio, Monoprix Gourmet and Casino products since January23.

Committed employer

  • Gender equality: the Group continues to increase the percentage of women in management, with a rate of 41.1% for the Group as a whole and 43.8% in France (45% target in 2025).
    • Diversity: the Group has over 9,100 employees with disabilities (+4.1% in 2022) and remains committed in this regard, with a new agreement on disability signed between Casino and Monoprix and employee representatives (recruitment target of 230 people with disabilities in three years).

Outreach initiatives

  • More than €2.8m was collected in 2022 by Franprix, Monoprix and Casino to support non-profit organisations (Gustave Roussy, Institut Curie, UN Women, Toutes à l’école, etc.)

Disposal plan in France: €4.1bn since July 2018

As of 31 December 2022, the Group had signed or secured €4.1bn in asset sales since July 2018. The disposals carried out by the Group in 2022 are detailed below:

  • On 31 January 2022, Casino Group and Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale completed the sale of FLOA to BNP Paribas for €200m (announced in 2021; €192m collected net of costs in early 2022), with an earn-out for Casino Group representing 30% of the future value created by 2025.
  • On 21 February 2021, the Group completed the disposal of 6.5% of Mercialys equity through a total return swap (TRS) for €59m. On 4 April 2022, the Group sold its remaining 10.3% stake in Mercialys under a new TRS maturing in December 2022 for €86m.
  • On 18 October 2022, Casino Group completed the sale of GreenYellow to Ardian. At end-December, it continued to have a stake in the company’s value creation through a €150m reinvestment. Net of the reinvestment, disposal proceeds for Casino Group amount to €617m, including €30m paid into a segregated account that will be released if certain operating indicators are met.
  • The Group has €152m in multiple secured disposals in 2022 (Sarenza, CChezVous, real estate).
  • In addition, the Group secured and recorded in advance a €12m earn-out in 2022 in relation to the Apollo and Fortress joint ventures (€118m already secured in 2021).

In view of the current outlook and the options available, the Group remains confident in its ability to complete its €4.5bn disposal plan in France by the end of 2023 at the latest.

Debt reduction in France: €1,062m24 of financial debt repaid in 2022

  • Bond buybacks: €673m worth of bonds cancelled in 2022

In 2022, the Group cancelled its bonds maturing in 2022, 2023 and 2024 and its secured 2024 Quatrim bonds for an aggregate par value of €673m.

Tranche Par value at 31 Dec. 2021 Cancelled between 1 Jan. and 31 Dec. Par value at 31 Dec. 2022 Cancelled between 1 Jan. and 10 March. Par value at
10 March 2023
EMTN 2022 €314m €314m 0
EMTN 2023 €220m €184m €36m €36m 0
EMTN 2024 €558m €29m €529m €20m €509m
Quatrim 2024 €800m €147m €653m €653m
EMTN 2026 €460m €460m €11m €450m
TOTAL   €673m   €66m  

Since the beginning of 2023, bond debt repayments have reached €66 million

  • 2023 Segisor debt repayment : €150m 
  • Repayment of the first half of the Cdiscount government-backed loan (PGE) in August 2022: €60m
  • €179m reduction in short-term debt25 (mainly NEUCP)

2023 priorities in France

Operational efficiency and development

  • Inventory reduction plan: -€190m in the first half of the year, offsetting end-2022 excess inventory
  • New cost reduction plan: -€250m in the retail banners
  • Acceleration of the expansion strategy in convenience formats: +1,000 stores representing more than €500m in full-year gross sales under banner

Deleveraging

  • Completion of the disposal plan in France: €400m by the end of 2023
  • Continued monetisation of assets in Latin America
    • Debt decrease

ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION RELATING TO BOND REFINANCINGS SINCE 2019

See press release dated 21 November 2019

Financial information for the fourth quarter ended 31 December 2022:

In €m France26
(France Retail + E-commerce)
Latam Total
  Q4 2021 Q4 2022 Change Q4 2021 Q4 2022 Change Q4 2021 Q4 2022 Change
Net sales 4,239 4,087 -152 4,096 5,068 +972 8,335 9,154 +820
EBITDA 530 425 -105 312 371 +59 842 796 -46
(-) impact of leases27 (139) (143) -4 (83) (91) -8 (222) (233) -11
EBITDA including leases 391 282 -109 229 281 +51 620 563 -57

Financial information for the 12-month period ended 31 December 2022:

In €m  

France1
(France Retail + E-commerce)

Latam Total
Net sales 15,825 17,785 33,610
EBITDA 1,321 1,186 2,508
(-) impact of leases2 (601) (338) (939)
(i) EBITDA including leases 721 848 1,569
(ii) Gross debt28 4,945 3,929 8,874
(iii) Cash and cash equivalents29 468 2,036 2,504

EBITDA including leases over the rolling 12-month period ended 31 December 2022 came out at €1,321m in France.

As at 31 December 2022, the Group’s liquidity within the “France + E-commerce” scope was €2.4bn, of which €468m in cash and cash equivalents and €2.0bn confirmed undrawn lines of credit, available at any time. Commercial paper amounted to €59m.

Additional information regarding covenants and segregated accounts:

Covenants tested as from 30 June 2021 pursuant to the Revolving Credit Facility dated 18 November 2019, as amended in July 2021
Type of covenant (France and E-commerce excluding GreenYellow) At 31 December 2022
Secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments ≤ 3.50x 3.11x
EBITDA after lease payments/Net finance costs ≥ 2.50x 3.00x

The secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments covenant stood at 3.11x, with EBITDA after lease payments of €690m and secured debt of €2.1bn.

Both covenants were met:

  • debt headroom of €270m and EBITDA headroom of €77m for the secured gross debt/EBITDA after lease payments covenant;
  • headroom of €115m for the adjusted EBITDA after lease payments/net finance costs covenant.

The balance of the unsecured segregated account was €36m at 31 December 2022, enabling the Group to meet its January 2023 debt servicing obligations. Following the redemption of the 2023 issue in January, the balance of this account was €0.

The balance of the secured segregated account was €0m at 31 December 2022.

No cash has been credited or debited from the bond segregated account and its balance remained at €0.

APPENDICES – FULL-YEAR RESULTS

Consolidated net sales by segment

Net sales
In €m
2021 2022 Change Change at CER
France Retail 14,071 14,205 +1.0%
Latam Retail 14,448 17,785 +23.1% +10.5%30
E-commerce (Cdiscount) 2,031 1,620 -20.2%
Group total 30,549 33,610 +10.0% +3.8%1

Consolidated EBITDA by segment

EBITDA
In €m
2021 2022 Change Change at CER
France Retail 1,351 1,268 -6.2% -6.5%
Latam Retail 1,060 1,186 +11.9% +0.1%
E-commerce (Cdiscount) 105 54 -48.7% -48.7%
Group total 2,516 2,508 -0.3% -5.5%

Consolidated trading profit by segment

Trading profit
In €m
2021 2022 Change Change at CER
France Retail 530 482 -9.1% -10.0%
Latam Retail 638 677 +6.1% -4.8%
E-commerce (Cdiscount) 18 (42) n.a. n.a.
Group total 1,186 1,117 -5.9% -12.1%

Underlying net profit

In €m 2021 Restated items 2021
underlying
2022 Restated items 2022 underlying          
Trading profit 1,186 0 1,186 1,117 0 1,117          
Other operating income and expenses (656) 656 0 (512) 512 0          
Operating profit 530 656 1,186 605 512 1,117          
Net finance costs (422) 0 (422) (581) 0 (581)          
Other financial income and expenses31 (391) 0 (391) (358) 3 (354)          
Income taxes32 86 (147) (61) 9 (185) (176)          
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees 49 0 49 10 0 10          
Net profit (loss) from continuing operations (147) 509 362 (314) 330 15          
o/w attributable to non-controlling interests33 132 140 272 (35) 153 117          
o/w Group share (280) 369 89 (279) 177 (102)          

Underlying net profit corresponds to net profit from continuing operations, adjusted for (i) the impact of other operating income and expenses, as defined in the “Significant accounting policies” section in the notes to the consolidated financial statements, (ii) the impact of non-recurring financial items, as well as (iii) income tax expense/benefits related to these adjustments and (iv) the application of IFRIC 23.

Non-recurring financial items include fair value adjustments to derivative instruments and the effects of discounting tax liabilities in Brazil.

Deleveraging in France 

€1,062m of financial debt repaid in 202234 

  • Bond buybacks: €673m in 2022 (early redemption)
  • 2023 Segisor debt repayment: €150m 
  • Repayment of the first half of the Cdiscount government-backed loan (PGE) in August 2022: €60m
  • €179m reduction in short-term debt35 (mainly NEUCP)

Change in net debt by entity

Net debt before IFRS 5
In €m
2021 2022
France including Segisor (4,845) (4,506)
o/w France Retail (4,365) (4,204)
    o/w E-commerce (Cdiscount) (337) (302)
o/w Segisor (144) 0
Latam Retail (979) (1,864)
o/w GPA Brazil (475) (316)
o/w Assaí (864) (1,732)
o/w Éxito 361 184
GreenYellow (deconsolidated on 30 Sept. 22) (34) 0
Total (5,858) (6,370)

Consolidated income statement

(in € millions)   2022 2021 (restated)36
CONTINUING OPERATIONS      
Net sales   33,610 30,549
Other revenue   394 504
Total revenue   34,004 31,053
Cost of goods sold   (26,109) (23,436)
Gross margin   7,895 7,617
Selling expenses   (5,366) (5,122)
General and administrative expenses   (1,413) (1,308)
Trading profit   1,117 1,186
As a % of net sales   3.3% 3.9%
       
Other operating income   764 349
Other operating expenses   (1,275) (1,005)
Operating profit   605 530
As a % of net sales   1.8% 1.7%
       
Income from cash and cash equivalents   61 27
Finance costs   (642) (449)
Net finance costs   (581) (422)
Other financial income   300 116
Other financial expenses   (658) (507)
Profit (loss) before tax   (334) (283)
As a % of net sales   -1.0% -0.9%
       
Income tax benefit (expense)   9 86
Share of profit of equity-accounted investees   10 49
Net profit (loss) from continuing operations   (314) (147)
As a % of net sales   -0.9% -0.5%
Attributable to owners of the parent   (279) (280)
Attributable to non-controlling interests   (35) 132
DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS      
Net profit (loss) from discontinued operations   (31) (255)
Attributable to owners of the parent   (37) (254)
Attributable to non-controlling interests   6 (1)
CONTINUING AND DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS      
Consolidated net profit (loss)   (345) (402)
Attributable to owners of the parent   (316) (534)
Attributable to non-controlling interests   (29) 132

Earnings per share

In €   2022 2021 (restated)1
From continuing operations, attributable to owners of the parent      
  (3.02) (2.93)
  (3.02) (2.93)
From continuing and discontinued operations, attributable to owners of the parent      
  (3.36) (5.29)
  (3.36) (5.29)

Consolidated statement of comprehensive income

(in € millions) 2022 2021 (restated)37
Consolidated net profit (loss) (345) (402)
Items that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss 203 (84)
Cash flow hedges and cash flow hedge reserve(i) 9 38
Foreign currency translation adjustments(ii) 194 (108)
Debt instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income (OCI) (1) (1)
Share of items of equity-accounted investees that may be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss 2 (3)
Income tax effects (1) (10)
Items that will never be reclassified to profit or loss 5 2
Equity instruments at fair value through other comprehensive income (30)
Actuarial gains and losses 46 2
Share of items of equity-accounted investees that will never be subsequently reclassified to profit or loss
Income tax effects (11)
Other comprehensive income (loss) for the year, net of tax 208 (82)
Total comprehensive income (loss) for the year, net of tax (138) (484)
Attributable to owners of the parent (237) (533)
Attributable to non-controlling interests 99 49

(i)  The change in the cash flow hedge reserve was not material in either 2022 or 2021.
(ii)  The €194m positive net translation adjustment in 2022 arose mainly from the appreciation of the Brazilian real for   €299m, offset by the depreciation of the Colombian peso for -€123m. In 2021, the €108m negative translation adjustment arose primarily from the depreciation of the Colombian peso for €124m.

Consolidated statement of financial position

ASSETS   31 December 2022 31 Dec. 2021 (restated) 38 1 Jan. 2021
(restated)1
(in € millions)
Goodwill   6,933 6,667 6,656
Intangible assets   2,065 2,006 2,048
Property, plant and equipment   5,319 4,641 4,279
Investment property   403 411 428
Right-of-use assets   4,889 4,748 4,888
Investments in equity-accounted investees   382 201 191
Other non-current assets   1,301 1,183 1,217
Deferred tax assets   1,490 1,195 1,022
Non-current assets   22,781 21,053 20,728
Inventories   3,640 3,214 3,209
Trade receivables   854 772 941
Other current assets   1,636 2,033 1,770
Current tax assets   174 196 167
Cash and cash equivalents   2,504 2,283 2,744
Assets held for sale   110 973 932
Current assets   8,917 9,470 9,763
TOTAL ASSETS   31,698 30,523 30,491
         
EQUITY AND LIABILITIES   31 December 2022 31 December 2021 (restated)1 1 Jan. 2021 (restated)1
(in € millions)
Share capital   166 166 166
Additional paid-in capital, treasury shares, retained earnings and consolidated net profit (loss)   2,625 2,577 3,135
Equity attributable to owners of the parent   2,791 2,742 3,301
Non-controlling interests   2,947 2,880 2,855
Total equity   5,738 5,622 6,155
Non-current provisions for employee benefits   216 273 289
Other non-current provisions   515 376 374
Non-current borrowings and debt, gross   7,377 7,461 6,701
Non-current lease liabilities   4,447 4,174 4,281
Non-current put options granted to owners of non-controlling interests   32 61 45
Other non-current liabilities   309 225 201
Deferred tax liabilities   503 405 508
Total non-current liabilities   13,398 12,975 12,398
Current provisions for employee benefits   13 12 12
Other current provisions   229 216 189
Trade payables   6,522 6,099 6,190
Current borrowings and debt, gross   1,827 1,369 1,355
Current lease liabilities   743 718 705
Current put options granted to owners of non-controlling interests   129 133 119
Current tax liabilities   19 8 98
Other current liabilities   3,069 3,196 3,059
Liabilities associated with assets held for sale   12 175 210
Current liabilities   12,563 11,926 11,937
TOTAL EQUITY AND LIABILITIES   31,698 30,523 30,491

Consolidated statement of cash flows

(in € millions)   2022 2021 (restated)39
Profit (loss) before tax from continuing operations   (334) (283)
Profit (loss) before tax from discontinued operations   (29) (330)
Consolidated profit (loss) before tax   (363) (613)
Depreciation and amortisation for the year   1,391 1,329
Provision and impairment expense   398 299
Losses (gains) arising from changes in fair value    (2) (5)
Expenses (income) on share-based payment plans   13 14
Other non-cash items   (119) (47)
(Gains) losses on disposals of non-current assets   (81) (128)
(Gains) losses due to changes in percentage ownership of subsidiaries resulting in acquisition/loss of control   (386) 20
Dividends received from equity-accounted investees   11 17
Net finance costs   581 422
Interest paid on leases, net   343 313
No-drawdown, non-recourse factoring and associated transaction costs   108 88
Disposal gains and losses and adjustments related to discontinued operations   (7) 114
Net cash from operating activities before change in working capital, net finance costs and income tax   1,888 1,824
Income tax paid   (139) (184)
Change in operating working capital   (475) (24)
Income tax paid and change in operating working capital: discontinued operations   (119) (97)
Net cash from operating activities   1,155 1,519
of which continuing operations   1,310 1,832
Cash outflows related to acquisitions of:      
  • Property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and investment property
  (1,651) (1,122)
  • Non-current financial assets
  (232) (174)
Cash inflows related to disposals of:      
  • Property, plant and equipment, intangible assets and investment property
  467 156
  • Non-current financial assets
  712 163
Effect of changes in scope of consolidation resulting in acquisition or loss of control   587 (15)
Effect of changes in scope of consolidation related to equity-accounted investees   280 1
Change in loans and advances granted   (12) (30)
Net cash from (used in) investing activities of discontinued operations   (42) (81)
Net cash used in investing activities   108 (1,101)
of which continuing operations   150 (1,020)
Dividends paid:      
  • to owners of the parent
 
  • to non-controlling interests
  (66) (102)
  • to holders of deeply-subordinated perpetual bonds
  (42) (35)
Increase (decrease) in the parent’s share capital  
Transactions between the Group and owners of non-controlling interests   442 15
(Purchases) sales of treasury shares  
Additions to loans and borrowings   1,973 4,203
Repayments of loans and borrowings   (1,984) (3,514)
Repayments of lease liabilities   (602) (623)
Interest paid, net   (985) (752)
Other repayments   (49) (30)
Net cash used in financing activities of discontinued operations   (3) (10)
Net cash used in financing activities   (1,317) (848)
of which continuing operations   (1,314) (838)
Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents of continuing operations   97 (22)
Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations  
Change in cash and cash equivalents   43 (452)
Net cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period   2,223 2,675
  • of which net cash and cash equivalents of continuing operations
  2,224 2,675
  • of which net cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations
  (1) (1)
Net cash and cash equivalents at end of period   2,265 2,223
  • of which net cash and cash equivalents of continuing operations
  2,265 2,224
  • of which net cash and cash equivalents of discontinued operations
  (1)

Analyst and investor contacts

Christopher Welton
+ 33 (0)1 53 65 64 17 – [email protected]
or
+ 33 (0)1 53 65 24 17 – [email protected]

Press contacts

Casino Group – Communications Department

Stéphanie Abadie
+ 33 (0)6 26 27 37 05 – [email protected]
or
+ 33(0)1 53 65 24 78 – [email protected]

Agence IMAGE 7

Karine Allouis
+33 (0)1 53 70 74 84 – [email protected]
Laurent Poinsot
+ 33(0)6 80 11 73 52 – [email protected]

Disclaimer

This press release was prepared solely for information purposes, and should not be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell securities or related financial instruments. Likewise, it does not provide and should not be treated as providing investment advice. It has no connection with the specific investment objectives, financial situation or needs of any receiver. No representation or warranty, either express or implied, is provided in relation to the accuracy, completeness or reliability of the information contained herein. Recipients should not consider it as a substitute for the exercise of their own judgement. All the opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.


1 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
2 Excluding tax credits
3 France scope including Cdiscount and Segisor
4 France scope including Cdiscount, GreenYellow and Segisor
5 Data published by the subsidiary
6 France scope including Cdiscount, GreenYellow and Segisor
7 Covenants tested on the last day of each quarter – outside of these dates, there is no limit on the amounts that can be drawn down
8 Including €6m at 30/06/21 and €28m at 31/12/21 in tax credits restated by Brazilian subsidiaries in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted trading profit for 2021 (€0m in 2022)
9 Excluding fuel and calendar effects
10 Data published by the subsidiary
11 Tax credits restated by subsidiaries in the calculation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted trading profit
12 See definition on page 13
13 Underlying diluted EPS includes the dilutive effect of TSSDI deeply-subordinated bond distributions 
14 France including Cdiscount, GreenYellow and Segisor
15 Subject to compliance with covenants tested at the end of each quarter
16 As defined in the refinancing documentation
17 Secured debt of €2.1bn and EBITDA after lease payments of €690m
18 10% discount on purchases (monthly fee of around €10, reduced for longer subscription period)
19 Data published by the subsidiary
20 Change at constant exchange rates, excluding tax credits
21 Scopes 1 and 2 compared to 2015
22 The 2022 performance is mainly due to the reduction actions implemented, while benefiting from favorable scope effects
23 Trays sold in the self-service section

24 Data in nominal value
25 Commercial paper, RCF drawdowns
26 Unaudited data, scope as defined in bond refinancing documentation with mainly Segisor and Wilkes accounted for within the France Retail + E-commerce scope (including GreenYellow)
27 Interest paid on lease liabilities and repayment of lease liabilities as defined in the refinancing documentation
28 Loans and borrowings as of 31 December 2022
29 At 31 December 2022
30 Organic change excluding fuel and calendar effects
31 Other financial income and expenses have been restated, primarily for the impact of discounting tax liabilities, as well as for changes in the fair value of equity derivative instruments
32 Income taxes have been adjusted for the tax effects corresponding to the above restated items and the tax effects of the restatements
33 Non-controlling interests have been adjusted for the amounts relating to the above restated items
34 Data in nominal value
35 Commercial paper, RCF drawdowns
36 Previously published comparative information has been restated
37 Previously published comparative information has been restated
38 Previously published comparative information has been restated
39 Previously published comparative information has been restated

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Artificial Intelligence

QSAN Unveils Latest Solutions for AI Era at COMPUTEX 2024

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Introducing Next-Gen NVMe Array and All-New Container Platform
TAIPEI, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — AI is sweeping the globe, transforming industries and spurring enterprises to adopt AI in business. As companies gear up to seize this incredible opportunity of rapid business growth, upgrading their IT infrastructure is the first step. At COMPUTEX 2024, QSAN will unveil state-of-the-art solutions to assist enterprises in the AI era.

Unparalleled Performance All NVMe Flash ArrayThe next-generation XCubeFAS 5226 is now delivering extremely fast performance. It features low latency, high throughput, and robust IOPs to accelerate demanding workloads for the upcoming AI era.
Innovative Container PlatformThe KubeSwift series is an innovative appliance that empowers SMBs with CaaS (Container as a Service) capabilities. This all-in-one solution streamlines containerized application deployment, management, and scaling, providing a robust foundation for modern IT infrastructures.
High Scalability Enterprise Unified StorageAs artificial intelligence continues to advance, the value of data will grow exponentially, driving the need for expanded storage capacity. XCubeNXT is an enterprise unified storage system with PB-level scalability, high availability, and multi-functional connectivity. It aims to prepare for storing massive amounts of material generated by AI.
Register for QSAN Tech Talk
QSAN will host tech talks to provide insights into storage technology and the future. Professionals will have in-depth discussions on topics such as AI applications, storage technology trends, market analysis, and prediction. Register for tech talk for more forecasts.
Make an Appointment with a QSAN Expert Consultant
Tailor-made storage consulting will also be available at COMPUTEX 2024. For the best chance of accelerating your business, make an appointment with a QSAN expert.
QSAN at 2024 COMPUTEX Information
Event Date: June 4 ~ 7, 2024Event Time: (GMT+8) 9:30 AM ~ 05:30 PMBooth No.: M1435a (AI Computing & System Integration)Location: 4F, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Hall 1 (TaiNEX 1)Address: No.1, Jingmao 2nd Rd., Nangang District, Taipei City 115, Taiwan
QSAN Showroom for Tech Talk and Expert Consultant
Event Date: June 4 ~ 7, 2024Event Time: (GMT+8) 10:00 AM ~ 05:30 PMLocation: QSAN ShowRoomAddress: No. 2, Ln. 1, Fukang St., Nangang District, Taipei City 115, Taiwan
For more information, please visit: www.QSAN.com
Media Contacts Email: [email protected] Address: 4F., No.103, RuiHu Street, NeiHu District, Taipei, Taiwan11494 Phone: +886-2-7720-2118

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/qsan-unveils-latest-solutions-for-ai-era-at-computex-2024-302126012.html

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Artificial Intelligence

Kanazawa University research: Biochemical tails tell a story

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kanazawa-university-research:-biochemical-tails-tell-a-story

KANAZAWA, Japan, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University report in Nano Letters how the use of high-speed atomic force microscopy helps to understand the crucial role played by certain biomolecules in DNA wrapping dynamics.

In plants and animals, the basic packaging units of DNA, which carry genetic information, are the so-called nucleosomes. A nucleosome consists of a segment of DNA wound around eight proteins known as histones. During gene expression (the process lying at the basis of protein production), nucleosomes are involved in various dynamical structural changes, such as nucleosome sliding, DNA unwrapping and other DNA–histone interactions. Of particular importance in these processes are the end structures, or tails, of the histones. Histone tails undergo chemical modifications, changing the histone’s functionality as needed. Detailed studies, and especially visualizations, of nucleosome dynamics are crucial for better understanding the role of histone tails. Mikihiro Shibata from Kanazawa University and colleagues have now succeeded in making video recordings of tail-less nucleosomes, showing that the absence of histone tails significantly increases a nucleosome’s dynamic activity.
The scientists used high-speed atomic force microscopy (HS-AFM), a powerful nanoimaging tool for visualizing molecular structures and their dynamics at high spatial and temporal resolution. For this, the nucleosomes needed to be put onto a substrate. Shibata and colleagues used a film of so-called pillar[5]arenes (molecules with a pentagonal tubular structure) as the substrate, forming an ideal surface as the nucleosomes are easily adsorbed to it without dynamical processes getting suppressed.
The researchers first looked at nucleosomes for which all eight histones lacked tails. Based on their HS-AFM observations, they concluded that nucleosome sliding and DNA unwrapping/rewrapping occurred more often than for normal (canonical) nucleosomes. This suggests that without tails, the histone–DNA interaction is weakened, leading to a situation in which DNA can more easily detach from the histones.
To better understand the roles of specific histone tails, Shibata and colleagues prepared nucleosomes where one type of histone was tailless. There are four different types of histones, called H2A, H2B, H3 and H4. HS-AFM experiments on the nucleosomes revealed that H2B and H3 tail-less nucleosomes showed an increased frequency of dynamics. Conversely, this means that canonical H2B and H3 histones are essential for nucleosome stability.
The scientists point out that they could not observe any actual motion of histone tails — most likely the temporal resolution of the study, 0.3 seconds, was much slower than the rate of the wrapping/unwrapping dynamics of the tails. Despite this limitation, the work of Shibata and colleagues clearly proves that the tails of H2B and H3 histones are the main contributors to nucleosome dynamics. Regarding future work, quoting the researchers, “a technique for tagging histone tail tips might enable HS-AFM to capture the movements of the histone tails themselves.”
Background
High-speed atomic force microscopy
The general principle of atomic force microscopy (AFM) is to make a very small tip scan the surface of a sample. During this horizontal (xy) scan, the tip, which is attached to a small cantilever, follows the sample’s vertical (z) profile, inducing a force on the cantilever that can be measured. The magnitude of the force at the xy position can be related to the z value; the xyz data generated during a scan then result in a height map providing structural information about the investigated sample. In high-speed-AFM (HS-AFM), the working principle is slightly more involved: the cantilever is made to oscillate near its resonance frequency. When the tip is moved around a surface, the variations in the amplitude (or the frequency) of the cantilever’s oscillation — resulting from the tip’s interaction with the sample’s surface — are recorded, as these provide a measure for the local z value. AFM does not involve lenses, so its resolution is not restricted by the so-called diffraction limit as in X-ray diffraction, for example.
HS-AFM results in a video, where the time interval between frames depends on the speed with which a single image can be generated (by xy-scanning the sample). Researchers at Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University have in recent years developed HS-AFM further, so that it can be applied to study biochemical molecules and biomolecular processes in real-time. Mikihiro Shibata and colleagues have now applied the method to study nucleosome dynamics in detail, and in particular the role of the molecular endings of histones — proteins that play a crucial role in DNA accessibility.
Reference
Shin Morioka, Takumi Oishi, Suguru Hatazawa, Takahiro Kakuta, Tomoki Ogoshi, Kenichi Umeda, Noriyuki Kodera, Hitoshi Kurumizaka, and Mikihiro Shibata. High-Speed Atomic Force Microscopy Reveals the Nucleosome Sliding and DNA Unwrapping/Wrapping Dynamics of Tail-less Nucleosomes, Nano Letters ,2024.
DOI: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.nanolett.4c00801 
https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/Figure-1-12.png Figure 1.
High-speed atomic force microscopy visualization of nucleosome dynamics with canonical (top) and tail-less (bottom) histones.© 2024 American Chemical Society
ContactHiroe YonedaSenior Specialist in Project Planning and OutreachNanoLSI Administration Office, Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI)Kanazawa UniversityKakuma-machi, Kanazawa 920-1192, JapanEmail: [email protected]: +81 (76) 234-4555
About Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), Kanazawa University
Understanding nanoscale mechanisms of life phenomena by exploring “uncharted nano-realms”
Cells are the basic units of almost all life forms. We are developing nanoprobe technologies that allow direct imaging, analysis, and manipulation of the behavior and dynamics of important macromolecules in living organisms, such as proteins and nucleic acids, at the surface and interior of cells. We aim at acquiring a fundamental understanding of the various life phenomena at the nanoscale.https://nanolsi.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/en/
About the World Premier International Research Center Initiative (WPI)
The WPI program was launched in 2007 by Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) to foster globally visible research centers boasting the highest standards and outstanding research environments. Numbering more than a dozen and operating at institutions throughout the country, these centers are given a high degree of autonomy, allowing them to engage in innovative modes of management and research. The program is administered by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
See the latest research news from the centers at the WPI News Portal: https://www.eurekalert.org/newsportal/WPI
Main WPI program site: www.jsps.go.jp/english/e-toplevel
About Kanazawa University
As the leading comprehensive university on the Sea of Japan coast, Kanazawa University has contributed greatly to higher education and academic research in Japan since it was founded in 1949. The University has three colleges and 17 schools offering courses in subjects that include medicine, computer engineering, and humanities.
The University is located on the coast of the Sea of Japan in Kanazawa – a city rich in history and culture. The city of Kanazawa has a highly respected intellectual profile since the time of the fiefdom (1598-1867). Kanazawa University is divided into two main campuses: Kakuma and Takaramachi for its approximately 10,200 students including 600 from overseas.http://www.kanazawa-u.ac.jp/e/
 
 
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/kanazawa-university-research-biochemical-tails-tell-a-story-302125876.html

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Geek+ and System Teknik deploy first PopPick solution in the Nordics for the pharmacy group Med24.dk

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DUSSELDORF, Germany, April 24, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Geekplus, the global leader in mobile robot and smart logistics solutions, has deployed the first Shelf-to-Person PopPick project in the Nordics for one of the biggest online pharmacy wholesalers in the region, Med24.dk. System Teknik partnered on the Denmark project, which includes three PopPick stations and 30 Shelf-to-Person robots, bringing a flexible solution to a region where fixed automation still dominates.  

“With the rise of e-commerce, Med24.dk had been struggling with huge sales growth coupled with fast delivery demands from customers in Denmark, Norway, Sweden searching for pharmacy, health and beauty products. Peak season events had also caused considerable strain to their operations,” said Blond Shkodrani, channel partner manager for the Nordics at Geekplus. “Due to their overwhelming success, Med24.dk needed a modular, automated order fulfillment solution for fast, efficient order fulfillment.”
The Geekplus modular Shelf-to-Person solution optimizes warehouse operations using mobile robots to transport shelves. In a region where fixed and cubic solutions have been the trend during recent years, Shelf-to-Person handles goods of all sizes while removing the need for infrastructure investment, making it the most flexible response to order fulfillment challenges.
PopPick workstations use two retrieval arms and four presentation locations to present pickers with multiple, moveable 78-tote racks at one time, resulting in an industry-leading throughput of 450 totes per hour. PopPick can store goods of all types and sizes; the solution is not limited to small pieces and improves ergonomics for workers while picking. It also takes up less space than traditional systems, so customers can use more stations without adding facility space.
“We are very pleased to invest in flooring robots from Geekplus,” said Med24.dk CEO Nils Træholt. “We believe that this new and innovative technology can help us realize our growth ambitions, while maintaining good delivery times for the benefit of our customers.”
Morten Kirch, System Teknik’s CSO, added: “Due to Med24.dk’s growth, we are thrilled to be able to deliver a tailor-made, automated solution that matches their needs.”
Geekplus offers a suite of Goods-to-Person mobile order fulfillment solutions — the only comprehensive robotic offering controlled by a single software platform.
“Through trusted partners like System Teknik, we’re showing customers all over Europe that Geekplus truly is a one-stop shop for modular warehouse automation,” Shkodrani said.
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2395198/Med24_Geekplus_PopPick.jpg Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2373458/Geekplus_logo.jpg
 
 

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/geek-and-system-teknik-deploy-first-poppick-solution-in-the-nordics-for-the-pharmacy-group-med24dk-302125816.html

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