French retail giant Carrefour has reported 'solid sales growth' for the full year, despite the tough trading environment.
Sales including VAT increased by 5.8 per cent at current exchange rates to reach some €101bn, while fourth quarter sales rose by 5.1 per cent.
According to the company, like-for-like sales growth was impacted in France by the general slowdown in the last quarter.
In Europe, Carrefour saw its performance improve in both Belgium and Spain in the last quarter, while solid growth was recorded in emerging markets like Latin America and Asia.
Lars Olofsson, Carrefour's CEO, commented: 'In a challenging environment, particularly in the second half, Carrefour achieved solid sales growth.
'Our Transformation Plan is on track and keeps on delivering strong results: improved price image and market share gains in France, very promising results of Carrefour Planet pilot stores and significant cost reductions exceeding €500m.'
