Carrefour Q2 sales slow with France, China

Carrefour, Europe's largest retailer, on Thursday reported second-quarter sales reflecting slower growth in its core French market and a slump in China while sales picked up in Spain and remained robust in Brazil.

Carrefour, which makes 73 percent of its sales in Europe, is seeking to seal a revival through a focus on price and cost cuts, expansion into convenience stores, and store renovation to boost growth amid weak consumer spending.

Carrefour finance head Pierre-Jean Sivignon said the market consensus for 2015 earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 2.51-2.53 billion euros was "reasonable" and that while the group was still ready to float its Brazilian business on the stock market, market conditions were clearly not there for now.

"An IPO will depend on market conditions. We do not need an IPO to fund our growth in Brazil," Sivignon told a conference call.

The world's second-largest listed retailer after Wal-Mart said second-quarter sales were 21.369 billion euros ($23.33 billion), slightly above the average forecast of 21.3 billion euros in a poll of analysts.

Stripping out fuel and currencies, revenue grew 2.6 percent in the quarter, a slowdown from 3.2 percent growth in the first quarter.

Closely watched same-store sales at French hypermarkets rose 0.5 percent after a 2.1 percent increase in the first quarter.

The slowdown reflected a tougher quarter due to higher year-ago comparables and price competition in the French market.

Growth in Brazil, Carrefour's largest market after France and an emerging market the company has earmarked for expansion, grew 7.1 percent in the quarter, while trading conditions remained weak in China, where sales fell 12.3 percent.

Carrefour's performance contrasted with that of smaller rival Casino, which on Wednesday said second quarter sales eased 0.4 percent, reflecting weak consumer electronics demand in its top market Brazil, though number-two market France saw a marked improvement at its hypermarkets after price cuts.