Carrefour sign

French retailer the Carrefour Group has announced its full year profit for 2012, reporting a steep increase from €371m (US$483.6) in 2011 to €1.23bn (US$1.6bn).

This result reflects capital gains from disposals, lower income tax, expenses and non-current income declines and annual sales increases in emerging markets, particularly Latin America.

Carrefour’s disposals included its Colombian operations to Cencosud for €2bn, (US$2.6bn), Malaysian activities to Aeon for €250m (US$326m) and its stake in Indonesian unit to its partner CT Corp for €525m (US$685m).

Income tax expenses fell 58.3 per cent to €388m (US$506m). Non-current income and expenses dropped 69.8 per cent to €707m (US$922m).

The announcement resulted in Carrefour’s shares rising by 4 per cent in early trading to $22.30 (US$29.08).

This marks a notable recovery for the French company, which in 2011 experienced a loss of 40 per cent of its share value.