By Nick Kostov 
 

PARIS-Carrefour SA beat analysts' consensus in the fourth quarter with robust sales growth in Latin America and ongoing improvements in its core French market, even though its Asia business continued to shrink.

Sales rose 3.9% to €23.37 billion ($24.84 billion) in the three months to Dec. 31, the retailer said, above analysts' expectations of €23.24 billion. On a like-for-like basis, which excludes currency and calendar effects and gasoline sales, revenue rose 2.9%.

Finance chief Pierre-Jean Sivignon said Carrefour would be "very close" to the 2016 market consensus for earnings before interest and tax of €2.39 billion when it reports full year earnings on March 9.

With its shares dropping 4.8% in the past year, Carrefour needs a boost. A confluence of difficulties, from tough competition in its home market of France to a restructuring in China and difficult economic conditions in Brazil, have hurt Carrefour in recent months.

Mr. Sivignon said initial public offerings of Carrefour's Brazilian business and its shopping mall property unit Carmila were still on the agenda for 2017. "We're working on it," Mr. Sivignon said. "There's nothing new to announce today but the wish is still to do them this year."

In France, where Carrefour does almost half of its business, sales rose 0.9% to €10.76 billion. On a like-for-like basis, revenue in France rose 0.7% as the company reported an improvement in food sales.

International sales grew 4.5% by the same like-for-like measure, with Latin America the standout performer. In Brazil, where the economy is showing signs of improvement, like-for-like sales grew 9%.

The picture was less rosy in Asia, where sales fell 5%. Carrefour is restructuring its activities in China by building more convenience stores, putting together a centralized distribution network which should be cheaper to operate and growing its e-commerce activities.

Write to Nick Kostov at nick.kostov@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 19, 2017 01:51 ET (06:51 GMT)