Sales up 2.1% at European retailer Carrefour in Q3 FY'12

Q3 2012 Highlights

Sales: €22.6 bn, +2.1%, driven notably by Latin America. The quarter showed an improvement in France, but Southern Europe remained difficult.

France: Sales up 1.2%, supported by improving sales trends in hypermarkets and supermarkets and by petrol sales.

Sales at convenience formats continued to grow strongly. Drive openings continued, with 164 outlets at the end of September (39 openings in the quarter).

Europe (excl. France): Sales down 2.2%, impacted by continued pressure on consumption in Southern Europe. Sales in Belgium grew again this quarter.

Latin America: Sales up 5.2% (+12.8% at constant exchange rates), accelerating growth in Brazil.

Asia: Sales growth of 12.3% (+1.1% at constant exchange rates), broadly in line with the previous quarter. In China, expansion offset the slowdown in consumption. Taiwan and Indonesia continued their solid growth.

9-month 2012 Highlights

Sales: €66.3 bn, +1.3%, supported by emerging markets, notably Latin America, whose sales grew by 5.3% (+9.9% at constant exchange rates).

The calendar effect in France is estimated at -1.6% in the third quarter.

Sales in France were up 1.2%. The petrol effect was a positive 2.3%, as fuel sales continued to benefit from the "Low Price Guarantee" launched in May in hypermarkets.

LFL sales at Hypermarkets were broadly stable (-0.3%). Excluding petrol, LFL sales were down 3.3%, an improvement of over 2 percentage points vs. the previous quarter. For the third consecutive quarter, sales trends in food improved.

LFL sales at Supermarkets were up 4.0% (stable excluding petrol) with an increase in food sales. Sales to our franchisees continued to rise this quarter, despite strong 2011 comparables. 

The roll-out of Drive continued, with the number of outlets totaling 164 at the end of the quarter: 39 Drive outlets were opened over the quarter.

Convenience and other formats (notably cash & carry) recorded LFL sales growth of 5.0%. Excluding petrol, sales rose 3.1%, driven by the performance of renovated stores. At the end of June, the convenience network included 426 City, 355 Contact, 181 Express and 15 Montagne.

The calendar effect in Europe (excluding France) is estimated at -1.0% in the third quarter. Currency effects were broadly neutral. 

Sales in Europe (excl. France) fell 2.2%, marking a stabilization in trends as compared to the previous quarter.

Spain recorded a better quarter in a context marked by an increase in VAT on September 1, but pressure remained intense, especially on discretionary spending.

In Italy, LFL sales ex-petrol sales were down 6.6%. Competitive pressure intensified in the quarter in the face of a significant decrease in consumption.