Jeronimo Martins' third-quarter profit falls 7.1%, margins narrow

Jeronimo Martins SGPS SA

30/10/2024 17:57

LISBON, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Portuguese retailer Jeronimo
Martins  JMT.LS  on Wednesday posted a 7.1% drop in
third-quarter net profit as a strain on margins from lower food
prices and lingering cost inflation offset higher sales.        
    The company said in a statement it made a net 187 million
euros ($203 million) in the quarter, exceeding the 166 million
average forecast by analysts polled by LSEG.    
    The EBITDA margin - a key measure of profitability - slipped
to 6.6% in the first nine months from 7.1% a year earlier. The
margin at the retailer's Polish market-leading chain Biedronka
fell to 7.7% from 8.6% a year ago.
    Chief Executive Pedro Soares dos Santos said that the price
pressures intensified competition and further strained profit
margins.
    "In this challenging context, we maintain our focus on sales
while reinforcing cost discipline and seeking operational
efficiency gains to protect profitability," he added.     
    Consolidated sales rose 6.7% to 8.47 billion euros in the
quarter, driven by sustained demand across all its brands,
particularly in Poland, where sales reached 5.9 billion euros.  
  
    However, Biedronka's like-for-like sales in Polish zlotys
slipped by 1.9% in the quarter.   
    At home, sales at the Pingo Doce supermarket chain rose 2.7%
to 1.3 billion euros, while in Colombia its Ara stores booked
694 million euros in sales, up 4.3% from a year earlier.
    Consolidated earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation
and amortization (EBITDA) rose 1.2% to 593 million euros, above
the average of 572 million euros expected by analysts.
    
    
   

 (Reporting by Patrícia Vicente Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip)
 ((patricia.rua@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
patricia.rua.reuters.com@reuters.net))