Press release Croix, France, 5 March 2021 2020 Annual results The in-depth transformation work carried out over the past two years means that Auchan Retail's results once again show robust growth Auchan Holding has posted healthy results and a sound financial position AUCHAN RETAIL: a year confirming the successful turnaround - 2020 EBITDA: +27% vs. 2019 at €1,633m - Confirmation of the success of the Renaissance operational excellence programme, whose structural savings target was raised to €1.4bn (versus €1.1bn) at end-2022 - Accelerated rollout of Auchan 2022 - Digital sales of €2.2bn (+40% year-on-year)1 CEETRUS: the health crisis had a significant impact - EBITDA: decline limited to -24.2% at €323m - Fair value of investment properties: -10.0% to €7,436m AUCHAN HOLDING: improved results due to Auchan Retail - Net profit: €907m - Net debt: €2.16bn (€1.7 bn year-on-year reduction) In accordance with IFRS 5, the contribution of Auchan Retail’s activity in China (sale of Auchan Retail’s stake in SunArt to its partner Alibaba on 16 October 2020), as well as the contributions of Auchan Retail’s activities in Italy and Vietnam (disposals in 2019), have been reclassified under “Net income from discontinued operations” in the financial statements for FY 2020 and FY 2019. The 2020 annual financial report, including the 2020 non-financial performance declaration, is available at www.auchan-holding.com 1 sales incl. taxes 2020 annual results - Auchan Holding – 5 March 2021 2020: a year confirming the successful turnaround A stabilised financial situation and a strengthened economic model After very poor 2018 results, Auchan Retail prioritised its short-term recovery from 2019, spearheaded by Edgard Bonte. Difficult choices were made and proactive actions were immediately undertaken to improve the financial situation and strengthen the economic model. Together, these actions led to the fundamental redesign of Auchan Retail, a company that is now fully debt-free with a sharply rising EBITDA margin and a reconfigured commercial offer that meets consumer expectations in the countries where it operates. ● Disposals with different strategic aims One of Auchan Retail’s most significant decisions was to divest from three territories in two years, for different strategic reasons: - in 2019, Auchan Retail sold its businesses in Italy and Vietnam – countries that were making heavy losses with no short-term prospects for recovery; - on 19 October 2020, Auchan Retail announced the sale of its Chinese subsidiary SunArt to its partner Alibaba. The company's continued growth required further technological integration into a region with a unique ecosystem. This well-timed sale for a net amount of around €3 billion was testament to a successful 20-year presence in the Chinese market. It gives Auchan Retail the financial means to reduce its debt, support its business plan, seize any good opportunities in its markets, and develop in new countries. ● Confirmation of the success of the Renaissance operational excellence programme, whose structural savings target was raised to €1.4bn at end-2022 Since 2019, hundreds of Auchan Retail employees have been involved in a global initiative to comprehensively review the company's operating methods. This iterative, in-depth reengineering plan – the so-called Renaissance programme – shifts the company's focus to operational excellence and addresses challenges found along the entire value chain, including: product mix performance and inventory shrinkage, the efficiency of store operations, back office effectiveness in supporting sales, optimising the goods supply chain, and handling loss-making operations. Nearly 204 projects were identified at end-2020 (compared to 134 at the launch of the initiative). Each of these are a way to review working methods and improve operational efficiency, including: inventory shrinkage (e.g. -26% in Poland, -14% in Romania), overhauling in-store organisational models, improvements in customer satisfaction due to new payment systems (in France, the NPS increased by 16 or 19 points, depending on the formats), improving the energy efficiency of in- store facilities (-3% consumption on a like-for-like basis in 2020), overhauling logistics plans (with associated carbon impact reductions), renegotiating framework contracts, restructuring stores and loss-making departments, etc. Auchan Holding 2020 annual results – 5 March 2021 2 Despite a difficult business environment in 2020, the teams continued their efforts and exceeded set targets. Total structural savings for the year came to €425 million, as evidenced in the turnaround in results. Savings of €664 million have been made since the launch of the programme in 2019, i.e. 60% of the €1.1 billion target set at end-2022. Given the outstanding performance of the Renaissance programme, Auchan Retail decided to raise its structural savings target to €1.4 billion by end-2022. Financial results continue to improve in 2020 ● Stable revenue in 2020 (on a like-for-like basis, excluding fuel and currency impacts) Auchan Retail’s revenue came to €31.627 billion in 2020, down 5.2%. This fall includes the drop in petrol sales in 2020 (-€1.0 billion), which was a direct consequence of the pandemic, as well as a negative exchange rate effect of €703 million (mainly linked to the fall in the rouble but also to the zloty, forint, hryvnia and leu). On a like-for-like basis2, revenue was stable at -0.2 %. Eight out of eleven countries recorded income growth in 2020. This earnings stability for 2020 occurred in a notably volatile business environment. The various measures linked to the health crisis (lockdown, curfew, closure of non-essential departments, etc.) had a significant negative impact in Q2 and Q4 in several countries. This was offset by a good Q1 and a good October and December 2020. Digital revenues saw very strong growth across all channels (+40% in total). In 2020, annual sales excluding hypermarkets and supermarkets reached 8% of total sales – two-point increase over the year. This progress is visible in all countries, regardless of their digital maturity. In France, like-for-like sales2 were stable (+0.0%). Auchan Retail France was strongly impacted by the fall in hypermarket revenue. This decline is due to its exposure to large hypermarkets in shopping centres and to its border sites – locations that are significantly affected by the COVID- 19 health restrictions : eighty percent of the fall in revenue for this format is concentrated in just 19 hypermarkets (out of a total of 117). This fall was offset by the increase in revenue of other formats. Digital revenues were particularly strong (+32%), reaching 12% of total revenue. The profitable “Drive” (click & collect) format was the main driver of this growth (+33% of revenue, with no increase in store space). Many successful test initiatives were also carried out during the year, such as Click & Collect in supermarkets or the “Piéton” (walk-in) format, which was trialled in the Lille metropolitan area. In 2021, city centre Click & Collect will be extended to more than 300 sites throughout France, including more than 50 before the end of H1 (Bordeaux, Lyon, Paris, Lille, etc.). “Western Europe” (excluding France) recorded revenue growth of 3.8% on a like-for-like basis2 due to strong sales momentum in all countries (Portugal, Spain, Luxembourg). Like-for-like revenue for “Central and Eastern Europe” fell by 3.4 %2. Earnings were down sharply in Russia, while Hungary recorded double-digit growth. Poland and Ukraine also saw increases. Like-for-like revenue in the other countries (Taiwan and Senegal) rose by 2.0%. ● Further EBITDA growth in all geographical areas thanks to the Renaissance programme Following a significant increase in its EBITDA in 2019, Auchan Retail's EBITDA for 2020 came to €1,633 million, an increase of €346 million for the year (+27%). 2 excluding fuel Auchan Holding 2020 annual results – 5 March 2021 3 As a proportion of total revenue, the EBITDA margin is 5.2%, compared to 3.9% in 2019. This performance was achieved thanks to the fall in operating expenses. The Renaissance initiative continued at a sustained pace in all countries, generating €425 million in structural savings in 2020. Auchan Retail also improved its productivity significantly by remaining operational thanks to the inter-format versatility of its employees. It should be noted that this improvement was made despite the impacts of the health crisis on operating expenses (additional employee protection expenses of €43 million). All regions contributed to this EBITDA growth: 50% in France, 16% in Western Europe (excl. France), 22 % in Central and Eastern Europe3, and 13% in other countries3 (Taiwan and Senegal). EBITDA rose spectacularly in some countries3 (+100% in Ukraine, +50% in Poland, Hungary, Senegal and France). Significant progress linked to the Auchan 2022 business plan: operational evidence In 2018, alongside the priority given to its financial recovery, the company embarked on Auchan 2022 – a large-scale business plan aimed at restoring the unique status of Auchan Retail. At the half-way point, the health crisis has confirmed that the strategic focus is correct, and the results speak for themselves. ● Good, healthy, local food: Auchan Retail fosters new dietary habits among local shoppers Auchan Retail has a long-standing, 25-year commitment to local producers in each of the countries in which it operates. Alongside its responsible agricultural schemes, the company is developing sustainable, balanced three-way partnerships with producers, breeders and processors from the food chain. At end-2020, Auchan Retail had 710 responsible agricultural schemes worldwide (200 of which are in France), i.e. more than 200 new schemes for the year (in France (+50), Poland (+80), Spain (+27), Portugal (+28), Romania (+14), Hungary (+13) and Ukraine (+6)). Auchan Retail opened the first responsible agricultural scheme in Taiwan (eggs) and the first three schemes in Senegal.