Chilean retail chain Cencosud cuts profit by 21.2% in the first half of the year

Aug. 2 () –

Chilean retail chain Cencosud has achieved a net profit of 109.176 billion Chilean pesos (106 million euros) in the first half of the year, which represents a 21.2% reduction compared to the profits of the same period of the previous year.

According to the company’s earnings report, sales increased by 11.2% compared to the first six months of 2023, recording a turnover of 7.9 billion Chilean pesos (7.696 billion euros).

Meanwhile, sales costs have grown by 10.4% year-on-year, exceeding 2.34 trillion Chilean pesos (2.279 billion euros).

Adjusted gross operating profit (EBITDA) rose 5.7% year-on-year to 727,621 million Chilean pesos (709 million euros). Operating profit was 553,351 million Chilean pesos (539 million euros), 17.4% more than in the same period of the previous year.

Cencosud’s general manager, Rodrigo Larraín, explained that in the coming quarters they will continue to strengthen their presence in the region, reinforcing their position as one of the main retailers in Latin America.

“We will strengthen the winning formats and businesses, while focusing on businesses that need to strengthen their profitability. In this way, we will continue to move forward decisively and execute our strategy to create value for the company’s shareholders.

EARN 75.1% MORE IN THE SECOND QUARTER

In the second quarter, Cencosud increased its profit by 75.1% year-on-year, to 109,777 million Chilean pesos (107 million euros). This result was driven by an improvement in the operating result and the positive impact of the depreciation of the Chilean peso.

Revenues rose 9.9% compared to the second quarter of the previous year. This growth is the result of the strength of the Supermarkets business despite a more challenging comparison base due to the calendar effect of Easter. The increase is also explained by an improvement compared to the first quarter of discretionary sales in Chile.

By market, the largest increase was in Colombia, where the company’s turnover increased by 22.2%. In the United States, turnover increased by 19%, in Brazil by 15.2%, and in Peru by 10.3%. Meanwhile, in Chile and Argentina, there were lower growth rates, of 2.6% and 2.7%, respectively.

Adjusted EBITDA was 386,965 million Chilean pesos (377 million euros), 11.2% higher than the previous year. Operating income increased by 33.8% to 306,994 million Chilean pesos (299 million euros).