Carrefour Q1 sales rise 3.9%

Paris -- French retail giant Carrefour SA reported Thursday that sales in its fiscal first quarter inched up 3.9% to $35.7 billion.



Stronger showings in Brazil and China helped the retailer counteract weaker performance in Western Europe.



Carrefour's sales figures come ahead of a key shareholder vote in June on the company's plans to spin off its discount chain Dia and some European property assets into separately listed companies.



The plans are backed by Carrefour's main shareholders: U.S. fund Colony Capital and French luxury goods magnate Bernard Arnault, which together control about 14% of Carrefour's capital and about 20% of its voting rights.



The project has been publicly criticized by unions, the European shareholder rights group Deminor and a handful of family shareholders in recent weeks for stripping Carrefour of money that could be reinvested in the company.