UPDATE 3-Carrefour says 2008 on track as hypermarkets improve

* Q3 sales rise 7 pct to 24.72 bln euros (forecast 24.63 bln) * Q3 like-for-like sales rise 2.9 pct * Carrefour on track to meet 2008 targets (Adds analyst/CEO comments, detail)

By James Regan

PARIS, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Carrefour (CARR.PA), the world's second-largest retailer, said it was on track to hit its full-year goals, after an improvement in French hypermarkets and growth in Latin America lifted quarterly sales 7 percent higher.

"Hypermarket sales in France have begun to improve, our growth markets are continuing to play a driving role and our multi-format, single-banner strategy is producing visible results," Chief Executive Jose Luis Duran said on Thursday.

But he warned that the environment remained "particularly volatile and challenging."

Third-quarter sales increased to 24.72 billion euros ($31.77 billion), on a like-for-like rise of 2.9 percent. This included a 23 percent increase in sales in Latin America to 3.2 billion, Carrefour said.

Carrefour was expected to post sales of 24.63 billion euros, up 6.6 percent, according to the average of forecasts from six analysts.

"It's slightly better. It seems to be mostly down to over-delivery in French hypermarket non-food sales," Dresdner Kleinwort analyst James Grzinic said.

French supermarket group Casino (CASP.PA) earlier this month stuck to its 2008 targets after posting a 13 percent rise in third-quarter sales. But it said consumers were switching from hypermarkets to discount stores and buying more store-brands, as well as curbing spending on non-essential items other than food. Carrefour said on Thursday that third-quarter like-for-like hypermarket sales in France rose 2.1 percent including fuel to 5.69 billion euros, helped by a 1 percent rise in food sales, and as non-food sales dropped just 3.3 percent compared with 8.6 percent in the first half.