Jeronimo Martins’ profits will rise by 33% until September

Jerónimo Martins recorded a net profit of 558 million euros in the first nine months of this year, up 33.3% on last year, the Securities Market Commission (CMVM) said in a statement.

He said sales at owner Pingo Doce rose 22.1% in the year to September to €22.5 billion, with EBITDA (results before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) up 18% to €1.6 billion.

The company emphasized that its investment program, implemented in nine months of the year, amounted to 790 million euros, of which about 44% was invested in Biedronka.

The group expects investments in 2023 “to be in line with those made in 2022 (around one billion euros), with Poland receiving about 45%.”

“In the first nine months of the year, Biedronka opened 92 stores (78 new stores) and renovated 270 stores,” he emphasized.

The group also reported that sales of the Polish brand amounted to 15.8 billion euros, an increase of 24.2%.

Back in Poland, Hebe’s sales amounted to 329 million euros, up 30.5% from the same period last year. During this period, Hebe opened 17 stores, for a total of 328 stores.

Pingo Doce, in turn, recorded sales of 3.5 billion euros, up 8.8% on the previous year.

The national supermarket chain “opened eight new stores, closed one and remodeled 36 stores in nine months,” the group said.

Recheio, in turn, achieved sales exceeding one billion euros for the first time, an increase of 18.1% year on year.

In Colombia, Ara generated sales of €1.8 billion, up 35.5% year-on-year.

By September, the chain had opened 151 stores, giving it a total of 1,241 stores in the country at the time.

Regarding the third quarter results, Jerónimo Martins recorded a consolidated profit of 202 million euros, up 28.2% compared to the same period in 2022, with sales up 22% to almost eight billion euros.

“We recognize that in the coming months we will continue to have to cope with business pressures arising from the intersection of two opposing forces: a sharp fall in food inflation and strong cost-push inflation. This will require our teams, at different levels of the organization, a high level of focus and discipline, as well as a renewed commitment to price leadership in the various markets in which we operate,” said group president Pedro Soares dos Santos, quoted in the same note.

“With no end in sight to the war in Ukraine and escalating tensions in the Middle East, developments and their impact on consumer confidence, which is already very fragile, are extremely uncertain,” he stressed.