Casino Q1 sales growth slowed down by weak French hypermarkets
PARIS, April 18 (Reuters) - Retailer Casino posted slower first-quarter sales growth on Tuesday that reflected weakening sales at its Geant Casino hypermarkets in France, and sluggishness at its recession-hit Brazilian market.
Casino, whose credit rating was cut to junk by Standard & Poor's in March 2016 and which has been criticised by U.S. activist fund Muddy Waters, is under pressure to show it can revive profits in France as conditions in Brazil remain tough.
Casino, which controls Brazil's Grupo Pao de Acucar , posted first-quarter sales of 9.321 billion euros ($9.92 billion).
Excluding acquisitions, currency effects and revenue on fuel, sales rose by 3.1 percent, a slowdown from 5.1 percent growth in the fourth quarter of 2016.
($1 = 0.9396 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)