Carrefour reveals busy and profitable first half of 2016

French retail group Carrefour has announced strong H1 results and vows to continue investing towards its 2016 target of €2.5-2.6 billion.

The company, best known for its giant hypermarkets across France and other countries in mainland Europe, recorded a growth in organic sales of 2.9 percent, with return on investment growth going up for the eight consecutive half, coming in at 5.3 percent.

Total H1 sales hit €40.6 billion, thanks largely to resilience seen in France and strong growth in emerging markets such as Latin American and Taiwan.

Carrefour noted the following investments during the period:

• Openings of 305 convenience stores, 97 supermarkets, five cash and carry stores and 3 integrated hypermarkets in H1
• Digital-channel development in all the Group’s countries
• First contribution of Rue du Commerce in France
• Creation of Cargo, a real estate company dedicated to logistics controlled by Carrefour and co-financed with third parties
• Accelerated pace of DIA store conversions in France with 260 stores converted in H1. 412 stores are now under Carrefour banners; the conversion of the 648 stores will be completed as planned at end-2016
   

As well as committing to the €2.5-2.6 billion investment for the year, the company will also aim to increase its cash flow and maintain its BBB rating. 

Read the July EURO 2016 issue of Business Review Europe magazine. 

Follow @BizReviewEurope