Carrefour sees operating income up by 33%

Carrefour, leader of the hypermarket segment on the local market, registered a 33% increase in its current operating income in Romania last year, amid a net turnover worth 731.1 million-euros, reads the financial report of Hyparlo, part of French group Carrefour. The net profit posted by the company, which at the end of 2007 numbered 11 stores, went up 22.3% last year on 2006, half the growth rate of local sales during the same period. In terms of value, the net profit amounted to 21.9 million euros, compared with 17.9 million euros in 2006. “In Romania, the commercial margin increased as a result of synergies between the local company and the Carrefour group (mainly import-related), and as a result of network expansion,” reads Hyparlo’s financial report. At the beginning of the year, Carrefour reported its 2007 results, domestic turnover worth 866 million euros (VAT included). Hyparlo operates 12 Carrefour stores in France and the Carrefour network in Romania. The French group took over Hyparlo entirely – its biggest franchisee, which operated the Carrefour hypermarkets on the local market – at the beginning of 2006, a time which marked an acceleration of the retailer’s expansion on the local market.