July 9 - Solid group sales growth: + 8.6 % in H1 and + 6.7% in Q2 at constant exchange rates; H1 2008 growth in Activity Contribution of at least 5%; acceleration of our operational action plan, focus on our French hypermarkets.
• Q2 Sales growth driven by our multi format single brand strategy, our international activities, and the strength of the Carrefour brand:
- Strong performance of our smaller formats in France: good comparable sales trends in supermarkets (+5.2%), convenience stores (+1.5%) and hard discount (+1.7%)
- Sustained growth in Spain (+3.4% on a like for like basis) thanks to promotions and a strong commercial dynamic
- Significant growth in sales of own label products (+6% in France, +16.7% in Spain)
- Increased contribution from growth markets (28% of sales versus 25% in 2007)
• French hypermarket sales down 2.4% Lfl, or 5.5% ex fuel, reflecting:
- A fall in food volumes in national brands
- An increase in own brand sales
- A drop in non‐food sales
• Acceleration of our operational action plans:
- Intensification of promotional activity in the Second Half in our French hypermarkets
- Accelerated roll out of Carrefour Market to reach around 150 converted stores at the end of 2008
- Acceleration of our cost reduction plan and tighter screening of capital allocation
- Acceleration of store openings in growth markets
- Use of Carrefour Property as an improved asset management tool
• Our objectives for 2008:
- Growth in sales inc‐VAT, and on constant exchange rates, in line with 2007 (+7.0%)
- Growth in Activity Contribution broadly in line with sales
- Generation of €1.5bn of operational free cash flow
• First Half 2008 outlook:
- In H1, we expect Group Activity Contribution to grow by at least 5%.
- This represents a significant acceleration in Activity Contribution growth compared to the first half of each of the last 3 years, and reinforces our confidence that we will reach our 2008 targets.