Carrefour reports fourth year of annual sales growth on Europe

PARIS: Carrefour SA, France’s largest retailer, reported fourth-quarter revenue that met analysts’ estimates, boosted by Spain and Italy, achieving a fourth year of annual growth.

Revenue rose 2.4 per cent on an organic basis to €22.4 billion ($24 billion), Boulogne-Billancourt, France-based Carrefour said Friday in a statement. Analysts expected 22.6 billion euros, according to the median of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Chief Executive Officer Georges Plassat has revived Carrefour’s European business by modernising stores and adding collection points for online orders. Sales rose 2.5 per cent in Spain and 3.5 per cent in Italy. Gross domestic product growth in the Eurozone is forecast to accelerate to 1.7 per cent this year from 1.5 per cent in 2015 and 0.9 per cent in 2014. That’s offsetting a weak market in China, where Carrefour’s sales slumped 16 per cent.

“This is a solid set of results for Carrefour,” wrote Bruno Monteyne, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “The main concern remains China, where sales continue to be in free fall.”

The stock rose 0.5 per cent to €25.09 as of 9.02am in Paris.

The company reiterated a forecast for recurring operating income of €2.45 billion in 2015. Sales rose 3 per cent on an organic basis last year.

Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA said on Thursday that French fourth-quarter sales rose 2.7 per cent on an organic basis and signalled that earnings for 2015 were below analysts’ estimates.