Centros Comerciales Carrefour Espana posts rise in profits

Centros Comerciales Carrefour Espana, part of French retail giant Carrefour, has posted a rise in nine-month net profit to €143.2m from €115.9m for the same period last year. Sales rose to €5.7bn for the first nine months of the year, compared to €5.3bn a year earlier. Hypermarket sales rose 6% on a like-for-like basis, while supermarket sales increased 5%. Higher sales and improved distribution cost controls resulted in a 13% rise in operating profit to €168.1m. During the nine-month period, the company opened one new hypermarket and 19 Champion supermarkets. It plans to open another hypermarket and nine supermarkets by the end of 2003.