Worldwide: Auchan sees sales gains in Europe and Asia

French retailer Auchan posted a 19 percent jump in 2012 sales on Tuesday owing to growing business in eastern Europe and Asia, but said net profit fell by 19 percent owing to one-off items and an unfavourable basis of comparison.

Auchan's net profit dropped to 656 million Euro ($850 million), on sales that climbed to 60.2 billion Euro, a statement said, while operating profit declined by 14 percent to 1.245 billion Euro.

In 2011, Auchan achieved an exceptional capital gain of 386 million Euro stemming from restructuring measures and a Chinese stock market listing, making for a tough comparison for 2012.

One-off items last year included a capital gain of 60 million euros and a re-evaluation of group assets that cut 110 million Euro from the bottom line.

The results also showed that 57 percent of Auchan's sales were made outside France, and that they gained 16.8 percent in eastern Europe and in Asia.

In France, sales edged up by 1.1 percent, while falling across the rest of Europe by 0.7 percent.

The group, which is based in northern France and controlled by the Mulliez family, did not give a forecast for 2013, but said it anticipated "another difficult year."

Source: globalpost.com