French retailer Carrefour has announced a drop in profit for 2008 of 45 per cent compared with 2007.
Profits fell to €1.27bn, despite a reported rise in sales of 5.9 per cent to €87bn. Nevertheless, due to the current environment chief executive Lars Olofsson described the retailer’s performance for 2008 as “resilient”.
He commented: “Carrefour’s resilient performance in 2008 underlines the group’s solid fundamentals. In a trading environment that remains challenging, we will focus on boosting our sales dynamics while improving our organisation and reducing our costs.”
In order to accelerate growth, Carrefour would, he continued, “strengthen our positions in France and Europe and focus our expansion on our growth markets with the highest potential”.
According to the BBC, the company has decided to increase the number of price promotions and reduce costs by €500m.
