Spanish store chain El Corte Ingles posts 6 pct profit rise

MADRID, Spain - Privately held Spanish department store chain El Corte Ingles announced on Sunday that net profit rose 6 percent last year, its first annual rise for six years, in spite of weak consumer demand continuing to drag on sales.

El Corte Ingles, which releases detailed financial information only once a year, usually in August, is viewed as a bellwether for the Spanish economy. As well as selling food, clothing and household goods, it operates a travel agency and is one of Spain's biggest employers with more than 93,000 staff.

The group, which sold 51 percent of its consumer finance division to Spanish lender Santander last year for 140 million euros ($184 million), posted annual net profit of 174 million euros, but total sales fell 1.8 percent year on year to 14.2 billion euros.

"This period was still marked by a notable weakness in demand from households," Chairman Isidoro Alvarez said in the company's annual report. "In the last quarter (of 2013) there was a slightly positive evolution (of demand)."

Sales had dropped by 8 percent in 2012.

Spain's economy returned to growth in the second half of 2013 after a prolonged recession, helped in part by growing exports and after deep spending cuts, though high unemployment remains a threat to the recovery.

The government is expected to make an upward revision of growth forecasts for this year, to 1.5 percent.

El Corte Ingles last year restructured nearly 5 billion euros of debt and sold a 600 million euro bond, its first ever. The group ended 2013 with nearly 3,400 fewer employees than in 2012. (1 US dollar = 0.7616 euro)