French retail giant Carrefour struck an upbeat note this afternoon (15 April) as it revealed that first-quarter sales rose by 2.3%, excluding petrol.

The company, which has come under pressure to improve its performance in Western Europe, said that sales rose to EUR23.96bn (US$32,5bn) during the three-month period. Total sales increased 0.3% on a like-for-like basis.

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“Our quarterly sales grew on a like-for-like basis for the first time in 18 months in spite of an environment that remains challenging. This performance reflects the heightened attractiveness of the Carrefour brand, our strengthened commercial dynamics and the acceleration of growth in emerging markets, notably in Latin America and China,” chief executive Lars Olofsson said.

Sales gains were driven by Carrefour’s “growth markets” of Latin America and China, which represent group 34% of sales. In China, like-for-like sales were up 4.5% while, in Latin America, ID sales rose 10.1%.

In France, Carrefour insisted that it had achieved an improved performance, with market share gains of 80 basis points for Carrefour banners. The company booked a 7.9% sales increase in its domestic supermarket business, but its struggling hypermarket operations saw sales decline 1.2%.

Hard discount banner sales fell 10.5%. In total, French sales excluding petrol were down 0.5%.

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Carrefour, meanwhile, said its board has decided to approve a buyback for up to 6% of its share capital.

For the full regulatory filing click here, or check back tomorrow for just-food’s insight into Carrefour’s first quarter sales.