Cencosud scores strong recovery in sales due to store reopening and withdrawal of 10%

The worst stage of the pandemic is beginning to be left behind for commerce and, in particular, for large retail chains.

This can be concluded by observing the balance sheets for the third quarter of retail companies, among them Cencosud, a company that operates in the supermarkets, department stores and home improvement sectors, as well as shopping centers; that this Thursday reported its numbers for the July-September period.

The company controlled by businessman Horst Paulmann reported that its revenues in Chile increased 18.6%, a situation that is explained by three factors: the reopening of stores, the boom in electronic commerce -whose sales grew at triple digits- and greater liquidity of consumers by the withdrawal of 10% of pension funds.

“During the quarter, revenues grew 18.6%, as a result of the good performance of the supermarket, home improvement and department store businesses,” the company reported.

However, this positive effect was offset to a lesser extent by the shopping center business, “which has been faced with gradual openings by region,” the company reported.

Despite this increase in sales in Chile, Cencosud’s results showed a loss of $ 171 million, which is mainly explained by the hyperinflationary effect of the Argentine economy, one of its main markets. Discounting this effect, profits in the third quarter reached $ 28,479 million.

In the case of international markets, Brazil showed record growth in income in local currency, with the best numbers in seven years in terms of adjusted Ebitda. “All countries showed increases in their Ebitda adjusted to constant currency,” explained María Soledad Fernández, Cencosud’s manager of Investor Relations and Sustainability, in a conference call to present the results.

Regarding the withdrawal of 10% of the pension funds, the executive pointed out that the effect was noticeable mainly in the department store segment.

“In July, when we did not have the 10% effect, in home improvement and supermarkets we had double-digit growth, but this was not the case in department stores year-on-year. As of August and September, these sales increased significantly in the three business units in Chile. That is the greatest effect, we came from a high comparative base, with good sales in the quarter, which was further enhanced given this effect, ”Fernández indicated.

Meanwhile, the shopping center business that Cencosud Shopping operates showed a drop in revenue of 54.4% year / year in the third quarter, although it reached a store opening level of 85% towards the end of the quarter, with an average 73% of its GLA or operational leasable area.