Economy.- Grupo Dia rules out any interest in buying Carrefour's assets in Argentina

MADRID, 19 (EUROPA PRESS)

Grupo Dia has denied rumors that the supermarket chain could be interested in growing in Argentina with the acquisition of the assets that Carrefour has for sale in the South American country.

Specifically, sources from the Spanish supermarket chain have told Europa Press that "they are not considering any inorganic growth option in Argentina at this time", as the Group's CEO, Martín Tolcachir, already assured during the presentation to analysts of the results for the first half of 2025.

Dia has emerged, according to the Argentine press, as one of the possible candidates to take over the more than 680 Carrefour stores in Argentina that the French firm would have put up for sale to focus on the countries where it has better economic performance.

Along with the Spanish supermarket chain, firms such as Coto, Grupo One, La Anónima, GDN or the investment fund Inverlat also appear as possible buyers.

DIA, FOCUSED ON RECOVERING THE BUSINESS IN ARGENTINA

In this way, Grupo Dia focuses on recovering the business in Argentina, after closing the first semester with gross sales under banner (GSUB) of 825 million euros, 4% less than in the same semester of 2024, while net sales decreased by 4% and volume fell by 15.6%.

“In Argentina, the business shows resilience and is preparing to capitalize on the expected gradual recovery in food consumption,” explained Tolcachir, regarding the brand's results in the South American country.

Adjusted Ebitda contracted in the first half (-3 million euros), weighed down mainly by investment in commercial margin, partially offset by cost reduction. However, it closed with a solid liquidity position, with 54 million euros of net cash at the end of the semester, protecting its self-financing capacity.

The group's global CEO, in a meeting with the media, ruled out his departure from Argentina and continued to bet on the recovery of this market. “We are not considering an exit from Argentina, which is going through a very difficult macro situation,” while he acknowledged that they had already overcome “the hardest part.”

“We have made local efforts to adapt to this new circumstance and today we are in what we understand as a stabilization of volumes and we hope in the future for a gradual recovery of food consumption,” he stated, while pointing out that their position in Argentina is “very robust”, since they have leadership in the city of Buenos Aires and a 'top of mind' brand in the Argentine consumer.

For the manager, Argentina is “very relevant” for the company, which is why they have prepared the firm to face what they hope “is really a phase of gradual recovery of food consumption.”