PARIS: French supermarket giant Carrefour, ranked world number two, said Friday it had slipped into the red for the first half in difficult times but still confirmed its 2009 earnings targets.

The company, second only to Wal-Mart of the United States, posted a net loss of 58 million euros (83 million dollars) in the six months to June after taking exceptional charges of 511 million euros.

Operating profit fell 27.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.01 billion euros.

The results reflect both a difficult environment and the company's strategic choices as it positions itself going ahead, said finance director Pierre Bouchut.

If the exceptional charges were stripped out, net earnings were down 42.4 percent to 415 million euros, Carrefour said.

Analyst forecasts had been for a net profit of around 100 million euros after exceptional charges of 550 million euros.

Carrefour said it still expected a 2009 operating profit before exceptional items of 2.7-2.8 billion euros if current trends and sales continued.

It also confirmed its target to secure cost savings of 4.5 billion euros by 2012, with 212 million euros achieved in the first half this year.

Carrefour said sales had held up well in the six months, with revenue down 1.6 percent from a year earlier but up 1.9 percent if fuel, exchange effects and seasonal-adjustments were taken into account.

"We are a good way towards achieving our 2009 objectives, towards carrying out our transformation plan," Carrefour head Lars Olofsson said.