Retailer Casino eyes further profit growth in 2018

PARIS, March 8 (Reuters) - French retailer Casinosaid on Thursday that it aimed to grow profits further in 2018thanks to cost savings and improving sales in France and Brazil,as it posted a 20.1 percent rise in its 2017 operating profit.

Casino, whose credit rating was cut to junk by Standard &Poor's in March 2016, is under pressure to show it can reviveprofits in its main market of France at a time of slower growthin Brazil, its second-biggest market by revenue.

It kept its 2017 dividend unchanged at 3.12 euros and vowedto improve cash flow and cut its net debt this year.

Operating income rose 20.1 percent to 1.242 billion euros($1.54 billion), in line with the company's guidance for profitsof 1.24 billion euros given in January.

Casino said its French operations achieved operating profitsof 556 million euros in 2017, also in line with the company'sguidance for profits above 550 million euros.

($1 = 0.8060 euros)(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)