PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) - Shares in French supermarket retailer Casino, which is battling to tackle concerns over its debts, fell on Wednesday after credit rating agency Moody's cut its ratings on Casino.
Casino shares were down 1.2 percent in early session trading.
Late on Tuesday, Moody's cut Casino's long-term rating to 'Ba3' from 'Ba1' and kept a negative outlook on the company.
"The free cash flows generated by Casino's French operations fell well below Moody's previous expectations, limiting the company's ability to reduce its gross debt despite large asset disposals," Vincent Gusdorf, the lead analyst for Casino at Moody's, said.
"Our decision also reflects the weakening liquidity and persistently high leverage of parent Rallye, which creates substantial uncertainties with regards to Casino's future financial policy, despite some protections stemming from Casino's listing and large minorities," Gusdorf added.
Casino said in a statement on Tuesday that Moody's decision did not factor in Casino's ongoing asset sales and debt-cutting plan, and added that it was focused on meeting its strategic and financial targets for 2019-2021. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Michel Rose)