Brazilian retailer Grupo Pão de Açúcar (GPA) posted a net profit of R$165 million (€44.7 million) in the second quarter of 2017, compared to a net loss of R$277 million in the same period last year.
Net sales grew by 9.5% to R$10.66 billion (€2.89 billion), driven by 29.2% growth at Cash & Carry banner Assaí and continued recovery of the Extra hypermarket banner.
Performance
In the Multivarejo channel (Extra hypermarkets, Pão de Açúcar supermarkets, and neighbourhood stores) same-store sales were up 1.2%, with market share gain compared to 2016. Performance was negatively impacted by the closure of Extra Hiper stores, which will be converted into Assaí outlets, and also by the sharp decline in food inflation.
At Assaí, same-store sales were up 13.5%, driven by strong growth in consumer traffic and volumes in the quarter. With the Carapicuba store conversion in June, Assaí totalled 110 stores and already accounts for 40.1% of GPA’s food business net sales (up from 34.4% in 2016).
Outlook
The company says that Assaí should close the year with six to eight new stores, which also includes entering two new states.
According to GPA, prospects for 2017 includes continued market share gains at both Multivarejo and Assaí; EBITDA margin of around 5.5% in the food segment; and capital expenditure of around R$1.2 billion (€325.5 million).
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
