Carrefour profit rises in 1H, affirms sales target

"There are and there will be rumors, but my priority today is to deliver on the results for 2008," Duran said. In July, shareholders voted to change the management structure, creating a new board of directors which does not include Duran.

The Halley family ceded its long-standing position as Carrefour's leading shareholder to Blue Capital, the consortium controlled by French billionaire Bernard Arnault and U.S. private equity firm Colony Capital, which last year took a 9.1 percent stake in Carrefour and urged the company to unlock the value of its real estate.

In the first half, Carrefour's retail estate arm became operational. Duran said the company plans to sell some of its real estate when market conditions allow, but "investors are not ready to pay the market price" at the moment.

In France, which accounts for 40 percent of Carrefour's sales, revenue in July and August was "slightly better" than the first half, when it increased 1.2 percent from a year earlier, Duran said at a news conference in Paris.

To respond to consumers who have been curbing spending as the French economy slows, the company said it plans to cut prices on select products in its home market, combined with promotional campaigns.

Results were boosted by stronger growth in the emerging markets Latin America, where sales increased over 40 percent in the first half, and Asia, which charted an increase of 8.1 percent.

Duran said sales in China were "strongly negative" in April and May, after protests during the Paris leg of the Olympic torch relay prompted Chinese boycotts of French goods. Customers have since returned and the company is sticking with expansion plans, which include the opening of 20 new hypermarkets this year, he said.

Carrefour also announced plans to cut costs by 100 million euros ($148 million), which Duran said won't involve any job cuts.