French retail giant Carrefour has posted a 4.5% rise in third-quarter revenue, boosted by new store openings and promotion campaigns.
Carrefour, which is the world’s second-largest retailer by sales, posted revenue of €19.79bn (US$23.3bn) for the July to September quarter, compared to €18.94bn a year earlier, as strong performances by its discount stores and its Spanish and Asian operations offset weak sales in French hypermarkets, reported Dow Jones News.
Carrefour’s French hypermarket sales were affected by the summer heat wave, as food sales rose 1.3% on a like-for-like basis, but non-food sales slid 1.2%, with sales of clothing particularly weak.
The company confirmed its full-year sales target of at least 6% growth before currency effects. Third-quarter sales growth was 5.8% excluding currency fluctuations.
The retailer said revenue for the first nine months of the year was €57.26bn, compared to €55.92bn a year earlier, representing growth of 2.4% in real terms. Carrefour said the increase was 6.2% in constant currency terms, in line with its full-year target.
During the third quarter Carrefour opened 223 new stores, including 13 hypermarkets, bringing its total number of stores to 10,095.
