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, according to the median of estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
Chief Executive Officer Georges Plassat has revived Carrefour’s European business by modernizing 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 euro zone 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.
The company reiterated that it expects it had 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 Thursday that French fourth-quarter sales rose 2.7 per cent on an organic basis and signaled that earnings for 2015 were below analysts’ estimates.
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