PARIS - Carrefour on Wednesday unveiled plans to buy back an extra 200 million euros worth of shares, reflecting confidence in its turnaround plan, and said it now targeted net free cash flow generation "comfortably" above 1 billion euros in 2021.
Europe's largest retailer, which delivered cost savings of 430 million euros in the first half of 2021, kept all its other operational and financial objectives under its Carrefour 2022 strategic plan.
Carrefour, whose potential takeover by Canada's Couche-Tard unravelled earlier this year, said group operating profit rose 11.2% at constant exchange rates in the six months to June 30 from the same period last year to 740 million euros ($873.72 million).
The performance reflected cost cuts and strong second-quarter sales in France, which made up for a more subdued performance in Brazil, where a surge in COVID cases has hit consumer spending power.
($1 = 0.8470 euros)
