Wal-Mart de Mexico (Walmex) on Wednesday reported an increase in earnings from 3.7% YoY in the first quarter, which were significantly affected by the tax burden in Central America, he said, while in Mexico the retail giant’s growth lagged behind its competitors.
Walmex’s net profit stood at 11,519 million pesos (about 639.2 million dollars), after having advanced with the incorporation of 12 new storesand total income totaled 206.07 million pesos between January and March, compared to 187.8 million pesos in that period of 2022.
In its quarterly earnings report, the retail unit of the US Walmart He also pointed out that its gross margin was around 48,675 million pesos compared to around 44,000 million pesos in the same period of the previous year.
Walmex also highlighted that it lagged behind the stores of the Mexican retail association ANTADwhich was up 30 basis points above it in the quarter in terms of retail equal sales growth.
“We are not happy with this result,” said CEO and CEO, Guilherme Loureiro, in a webcast to discuss the results. Walmex had grown above ANTAD members in the last three quarters.
Compared to its rivals, the unit of US-based Walmart offered more discretionary categories that were more likely to be affected by high inflation, he said. “Customers continue to adjust their shopping habits to be able to afford a full basket.”
The unit of analysis of Monex considered in a statement that “the report was neutral, maintaining the operational inertia observed in previous quarters.” “With the significant competition in the sector, we believe that the station has managed to maintain its defensive operating aspect,” he said.
New store openings contributed 1.4% to total sales growth, the company said. The same (comparable) sales of the retail sector grew by 8.7% in Mexico and 12.4% in Central America during the first quarter of the year.
Earlier in March, the unit of Walmart in Mexico and Central America announced that its investment in the region by 2023 would be around 27.1 billion pesos.
He EBITDA Walmex – earnings before taxes, interest, depreciation and amortization – rose 7.7% in the period to 22,316 million pesos, according to the results report.
The firm explained that it was affected by a change in the way taxes were calculated in a Central American country and clarified that, without considering that impact, net profit would have grown by 15.6%.
According to Walmex, its cash position increased by 32.9% compared to the first quarter of 2022, thanks to better liquidity generation and anticipation of the first dividend payment that will take place this year.
Earnings per share stood at 0.66 pesos, below the 0.64 pesos per share registered in the same quarter of the previous year.
rrg
