In the first three months of the year, all of Femsa ‘s business units grew in income; however, it was not enough to increase the company’s profits, which were affected by the depreciation of the peso .
Femsa’s revenues increased 18.6% to 147,636 million pesos, while its net income decreased 6.6% to 5,848 million pesos, “due to a foreign exchange loss related to Femsa’s dollar-denominated cash position, impacted by the depreciation of the peso Mexican, which represented a negative variation of 3,057 million pesos, during the quarter”, detailed the company in its report.
Femsa opens more Oxxos
The ‘Proximity’ business, which represents 34% of Femsa’s revenues, reported a 15% increase in total revenues. At the same-store level, that is, units that have been in operation for more than 12 months, sales increased 12.7%.
The performance of this channel is due to a growth of 10.7% in the average ticket and 1.8% in traffic. “These figures reflect a good performance of the meeting category, including beer, snacks, and wines and spirits, as well as the sustained recovery of mobility-driven occasions,” the firm detailed.
In the quarter, 69 Oxxo stores were opened for a total of 20,500 stores. “Our Digital efforts continued to make progress in customer acquisition, with Spin by OXXO reaching 2 million users and OXXO Premia surpassing 8.5 million users,” Rodríguez reported.
“We had a strong first quarter across all of our operations. We managed to continue the trend that began at the end of last year, with a combination of successful growth strategies and a better demand environment in most of our markets, and with more agile and efficient operations that are generating good operating leverage”, said Daniel Rodríguez, general director of Femsa in his report.
Oxxo Gas has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels
In the quarter, revenues from the Fuels business, which represent 7% of the total, increased 27.7% due to a 9.6% increase in average volume and an 8.1% growth in the average price per liter. From January to March, Oxxo Gas opened 2 stations to reach a total of 569.
“The Fuels business has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, but finally saw a significant improvement in its demand environment, registering good growth in its income statement,” Rodríguez commented.
As for Health, total revenues increased 5.1%, mainly due to the performance in Chile, Mexico and Colombia.
From January to March, Femsa’s operating margin increased by 40 basis points from 7.7% to 8.1%, reflecting the expansion in all of its business units. Its operating flow (Ebitda) registered an increase of 16% to 19,694 million pesos.
“We must continue to monitor inflation and supply chain pressures, as well as the continued evolution of events related to the pandemic. But in general, we are optimistic about our opportunities and our ability to capture them”, concluded Rodriguez.
