France: Carrefour records strong profit in 2013, announces investment plans

According to the full year financial results for 2013 published by Carrefour, the leading French grocery retailer booked a rise in profits with a sales increase of 2.5% to €66.9 billion ($91.9 billion) and operating profit up 9.8% to €2.2 billion ($3.0 billion).

Major investment over the past 12 months has helped to boost sales in France, according to European Supermarket Magazine.

Following the publication of its results, the world's second largest retailer announced that it aimed to further invest up to €2.5 billion ($3.4 billion) in 2014 to open, revamp and expand stores, speeding up its programme of store redevelopment.

While sales in France rose by 1% to €35.4 billion ($48.6 billion), Asian sales rose 2.2% and Latin American sales booked a 12.3% increase. In the near future the company plans to focus on markets such as China and Brazil, but will also look at other key emerging markets such as Argentina, it was reported.

Source: ESM