When presenting a new three-year business plan earlier on Thursday, the company said net debt stood at 950 million euros (0.73 billion pounds) at the end of last year, up from a previous guidance of between 885-935 million euros.

The group, which runs stores in some of Europe's busiest airports, expects adjusted core earnings to rise nearly 18 percent to 335 million euros in 2017 as it seeks to put its house in order before searching for a partner.

(Reporting by Francesca Landini, writing by Agnieszka Flak)