Europe’s Stoxx 600 inches lower amid French political crisis
Introduction & Market Context
Label Vie (LBV) presented its H1 2025 results on September 26, 2025, revealing strong growth in a favorable macroeconomic environment. The Moroccan retail giant reported significant expansion, particularly in its discount format Supeco, while maintaining stable profitability despite substantial investment in new stores.
The company’s performance was supported by a robust economic backdrop in Morocco, with GDP growth reaching 4.6% in Q2 2025 and forecasts for the full year revised upward to 4.4% from an initial estimate of 3.8%.
As shown in the following chart of GDP growth trends, the Moroccan economy has demonstrated consistent strength throughout 2024 and into 2025:
Consumer confidence has also recovered significantly, reaching 55 in Q2 2025 and returning to pre-Russia/Ukraine conflict levels. Meanwhile, inflation has normalized with the Consumer Price Index at just 0.8% in Q2 2025, creating favorable conditions for retail spending.
The following chart illustrates the trends in inflation and consumer confidence:
Quarterly Performance Highlights
Label Vie reported impressive financial results for H1 2025, with retail sales (excluding gas and real estate development) increasing by 13.3% year-over-year to MAD 7,492 million. Total revenue grew by 12.1% to MAD 8,728 million, while gross margin improved by 13.7% to MAD 1,782 million.
The comprehensive financial overview below highlights the company’s performance across key metrics:
The growth in retail sales was driven by a combination of like-for-like growth of 3.0% and expansion, with new store openings in 2024 and 2025 contributing 10.3% to overall sales growth. The company added 44 new stores during the period, primarily in the Supeco discount format, which saw its store count increase dramatically from 81 to 125 locations.
This waterfall chart clearly illustrates how each factor contributed to the overall sales growth:
Detailed Financial Analysis
Looking at performance by store format, Atacadao (cash & carry format) remained the largest contributor to sales at 39% of total retail sales, generating MAD 2,938 million with growth of 15.9%. Carrefour Market (supermarket format) represented 31% of sales at MAD 2,324 million, while Carrefour hypermarkets accounted for 24% with MAD 1,788 million in sales.
The standout performer in percentage terms was the Supeco discount format, which saw sales surge by 237.7% to MAD 150 million, though it still represents just 2% of total retail sales. Carrefour Express also performed strongly with 25.2% growth and impressive like-for-like growth of 12.5%.
The following chart breaks down retail sales contribution by format:
In terms of profitability, Label Vie’s EBITDA increased by 9.5% to MAD 644 million, though the EBITDA margin slightly decreased from 8.5% to 8.3% of sales. This was primarily due to increased operating expenses associated with the company’s rapid expansion.
The EBITDA analysis below shows how different factors affected the company’s operational profitability:
Net income grew more modestly at 3.4% to reach MAD 276 million. The financial result declined by 13.1% to MAD 74 million, largely due to a one-off gain of MAD 36 million from Terramis in H1 2024. Excluding this exceptional item, the financial result would have improved by 49% year-over-year.
Strategic Initiatives
Label Vie’s expansion strategy is clearly focused on the Supeco discount format, which saw the most significant growth in store count during H1 2025. The company’s total retail space increased to 314,077 square meters, up from 307,606 square meters at the end of 2024.
The company maintains a multi-format approach with five distinct retail concepts:
- Carrefour hypermarkets (13 stores)
- Carrefour Market supermarkets (103 stores)
- Carrefour Express convenience stores (54 stores)
- Supeco discount stores (125 stores)
- Atacadao cash & carry stores (19 stores)
This diversified portfolio allows Label Vie to address different consumer segments and shopping occasions, from weekly stock-up trips at hypermarkets to daily convenience purchases at express formats.
Forward-Looking Statements
Looking ahead, Label Vie has set ambitious targets for 2025, including:
The company expects to expand its total retail space by 15-20% in 2025, with acceleration in new openings anticipated in H2 2025. Revenue is projected to exceed MAD 19 billion for the full year, while EBITDA margin is expected to align with the company’s 2028 target of approximately 9.3%.
In the longer term, Label Vie’s strategic plan for 2024-2028 aims to:
- Multiply store count by 5x, focusing on proximity formats (from 179 to 953 stores)
- Double sales from MAD 14.2 billion to MAD 27.9 billion
- Maintain EBITDA margin at 9.3%
- Improve financial solidity with net debt ratio decreasing from 53% to 44%
With a current stock price of MAD 4,599 (as of October 3, 2025) and trading within a 52-week range of MAD 3,900 to MAD 5,080, Label Vie continues to execute its ambitious growth strategy while maintaining financial discipline and stable profitability metrics.
Full presentation:
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.