French retail giant Carrefour has announced several measures, including the disposal of underperforming assets, aimed at improving investor confidence.
The company, which also reported first-half net profit up 5% to €537m (US$654.5m), said it plans to divest €1bn of underperforming assets over the next two years, using the proceeds to expand its operations either through new stores and extensions, or acquisitions, reported The Financial Times.
The company’s first-half sales rose 2.9% to €34.5bn, although sales in France slid 0.6% to €17.07bn. Carrefour said in its interim report that its pricing position was strong in France and as a result it had started to win back market share in food. The company’s core French stores had been losing market share to discount retailers.
Carrefour said it is on track to open one million square metres of new space in 2004, of which 80% will be outside France.

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