French retail group Carrefour has revealed that it expects full-year sales growth of 6.5 per cent at constant exchange rates, down from its previous 2008 target of 7 per cent.

At a board of director meeting, which marked the last in the presence of outgoing chief executive officer José Luis Durán, the group reviewed its action plan from the past two months and said that it expected to meet a target of €1.5bn of operational free cash flow this year. This would mark a significant increase on €691m in 2007.

In a statement, the group said that it had observed 'deteriorating global consumption trends' over the past few weeks, particularly in Europe. As a result, it would continue to pursue an 'aggressive promotional policy' to meet the needs of customers, the group added.

Mr Durán was presiding over his last meeting before being replaced by Lars Olofsson, the executive vice-president of Nestlé, on 1 January 2009.

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