Metro Group reported lower third-quarter profits but its shares climbed after the German retail giant stuck to its forecast for annual earnings, which it had cut earlier this month.
The company booked net income of EUR125m for the three months to the end of September, down from EUR227m a year earlier.
EBIT before special items dropped from EUR614m in the third quarter of 2011 to EUR398m this year in what Metro called "difficult trading conditions".
Metro kept its forecast of EBIT before special items of "around" EUR2bn. It issued the revised outlook three weeks ago - down from its previous guidance of EUR2.37bn - and pointed to the "worsening" consumer environment in Europe.
Today, Metro said it expected "great economic insecurity to dampen consumer confidence" but held its full-year forecast. Metro shares were up 3.66% at EUR22.22 at 15:46.
