Carrefour's Operating Profit Rises 5.4%, Net Profit Six Times Higher

By Christina Passariello 

PARIS--French retail giant Carrefour SA said operating profit grew 5.4% last year as it whittled back price promotions and kept a tight clamp on costs.

Carrefour said Wednesday its operating profit grew to EUR2.24 billion ($3.08 billion) as sales excluding tax slipped 1% to EUR74.9 billion. Net profit was more than six times higher than in 2012, at EUR949 million.

"Carrefour recorded strong growth in a difficult environment," Chief Financial Officer Pierre-Jean Sivignon said on a conference call.

The French supercenter operator, which jockeys with Tesco PLC for the title of world's second-largest retailer behind Wal-Mart Stores Inc., posted its strongest growth in France and Spain in several years.

But its sales and profit were dented by weak currencies abroad, especially in Latin America. Excluding foreign exchange fluctuations, operating profit would have risen by 9.8% last year and sales by 2%, Carrefour said.

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