PARIS: French grocery giant Carrefour’s like-for-likes jumped 2.3% in the first quarter, driven by improvements at home and growth in Latin America.
Revenues during the first three months of the year hit €21bn (£15.16bn) after like-for-like sales excluding fuel in France rose 2.5%. Sales in the country accounted for around half of the group’s overall total.
In its Hypermarkets, which account for around a quarter of group sales, like-for-likes to March 31 grew 2.1%, following drops in the previous two quarters.
The results come off the back of the retailer revealing a 6.7% jump in full-year profits during 2014, driven by its “back to basics” turnaround strategy. But analysts have warned the transformation of the grocer is not yet complete, claiming bosses have “stopped the bleeding.”
Carrefour has been battling to win back shoppers who have turned their backs on the grocer in favour of etailers and local shops. Boss Georges Plassat has quit several emerging markets to focus its attention on the domestic business.
But Carrefour’s performance in other European countries