Latin America News & Analysis

Falabella has reported a 16.4% increase in consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter of 2013, driven by acquisitions and positive same store sales growth in retail operations. Good performance from non-banking businesses Revenues from non-banking businesses were up 16.7% for the quarter, mainly due to sales area growth including the acquisition of Construdecor. Retail operations perfor...

Costco’s second quarter sales increased by 5.8% to $25.8bn, with comparable store sales (ex-fuel and currency impacts) up 5%. Net income attributable to Costco fell by 15.4% to $463m. Profitability impacted by a range of factors The key standout within Costco’s results is the decline in net income. A number of factors impacted the retailer’s profitability during the quarter including weak...

Carrefour has reported growth in recurring operating income of 9.8% for 2013, at constant rates, and +5.3% at current rates. It saw improvement in all formats in France, with a rebound in profitability in other European countries in the second half.   Strong growth in earnings, improvement in all formats in France Recurring operating income was up 11.3% in Europe. In France, operating incom...

InRetail Perú Corp, operator of Supermercados Peruanos, has reported consolidated revenue growth of 15% for Q4 2013, with supermarket revenues up 12% and pharmacies increasing by 17%. Group revenue for the full year was up 11%. New stores drive supermarket growth The addition of 12 new stores drove the growth in supermarket revenues, in addition to an increase in same store sales of 2.4%. Sup...

Mexico's Soriana has reported a 0.4% rise in sales for 2013, affected by decelerating consumption. Consumption slowdown continued throughout year In common with other Mexican retailers , Soriana was hit by a clear downward trend in household consumption. Same store sales were down 2.2% for the year, however expansion in sales area offset this fall. Soriana opened 53 new stores in 2013 and is...

Latin American e-commerce operator MercadoLibre has reported consolidated net revenue growth of 29.8% in US dollar terms, year-on-year, for the fourth quarter of 2013. For the full year, consolidated net revenues were up 26.5%. Unlocking huge potential in Latin America Items sold on MercadoLibre during the fourth quarter were up 20.1%, while total payment transactions via MercadoPago we...

Mexico's CCM has reported net sales up 2.9% for Q4 2013, while FEMSA Comercio, operator of Oxxo, achieved a 13.5% increase in total revenues for the fourth quarter. CCM grows in subdued environment Despite subdued consumption during the quarter, CCM managed to also grow same store sales by 1.3%, outperforming trade body ANTAD's figure of -1.3% for the food retail sector. Same store sales in t...

Cencosud has created a new corporate retail management team, upon the resignation of its supermarkets division managing director, to further improve profitability and efficiency. Departure of supermarkets division MD According to reports, the team will comprise the managing directors of Cencosud's supermarket operations in each country, as well as those of the DIY and department stores...

At Walmart International’s meeting for the investment community this week, its new President and CEO, David Cheesewright outlined the priorities for the division under his leadership. Simplifying the business In his first set-piece presentation heading up Walmart International, David Cheesewright outlined six key areas of focus for the next 12 months. The key theme of the presentation, an...

Portugal's Jerónimo Martins has provided more information on its operations in Colombia, as part of its 2013 results update. Three different store concepts exist Jerónimo Martins opened its first stores in Colombia in March 2013, alongside a distribution centre, in the Eje Cafetero region of the country. By the end of the year, it had 36 stores and total sales of EUR21m; there are plans to...