PARIS (Reuters). Carrefour (EPA:) stated on Wednesday that they are confident in their ability to achieve the strategic objectives set by its turnaround plan. The company’s sales growth accelerated during the first quarter thanks mainly to Brazil’s high growth.

Europe’s biggest food retailer has reaffirmed its goal to create free cash flow of above 1 billion euro ($1.1 billion) by 2022. With cost inflation increasing, it stated that they now aim for cost savings of more than 900 millions euros this year.

Carrefour said it had also achieved 400m euros in share buybacks, a 750 million euro program it announced in February. It would then launch its second tranche within the next few days.

The French retailer of food has no other financial options than cash to expand its digital commerce business. It is dependent on the success of two tie-ups that failed last year, one with Couche-Tard Canada and one with Auchan France.

Carrefour announced that it had sold 20.239 million euros ($22 billion) in its first quarter. This was 3.4% growth compared to the previous quarter. Solid growth in Brazil, Spain and France drove this growth. Sales in core French markets were flat.

The group saw a 0.7% increase in sales during the fourth quarter of 2021.

Carrefour is currently in the final leg of an ambitious five-year plan that began in January 2018, to lower costs and improve ecommerce investment. It will be competing with Amazon (NASDAQ:), discounters Lill, and unlisted Leclerc.

Alexandre Bompard is the Chairman and CEO of Carrefour. He was reappointed by Carrefour in May 2021 to serve another three-year term.

Carrefour shares are up 27% this year but trade at 7% less than when Bompard assumed control in July 2017.

($1 = 0.9212 euros)