SMU reported on Monday the financial results for the first quarter of 2024, achieving annual revenues of CLP 711.564 billion, an increase of 1% compared to the CLP 704.239 billion generated in 2023.

The Unimarc format recorded a 2% increase in sales during the period, while online sales grew by 30%. In the price formats, Alvi, Mayorista 10, and Super10, there was a decrease of 1.7% in revenues, mainly due to a high comparison base from the previous year, a period in which this segment grew by 11.5%. However, the same-store sales of the Super10 format, which is a significant focus of our organic growth plan, reached 12% in the first three months of 2024.

Regarding the EBITDA for the first three months of 2024, the company managed to stay at levels of CLP 67 billion, similar to the same period last year, and achieved an EBITDA margin of 9.4%, well above its target of 9%. In this regard, SMU's General Manager, Marcelo Gálvez, stated, "We obtained these results despite the weak economic scenario, where consumers continue to buy in smaller quantities and substitute for cheaper products, affecting the average ticket. However, like in recent quarters, we have recorded increases in the number of customers and transactions in all our formats, demonstrating that customers are responding well to our value propositions and promotional strategy. We have also seen performance above expectations in the stores we opened in 2023 in the Unimarc, S10, and Alvi formats."

The net profit for the first quarter of 2024 reached CLP 19.113 billion, representing a decrease of 12.2% compared to 1Q23. "With stable EBITDA and no exceptional non-operational effects, the main impacts on profit were related to the increase in depreciation, reflecting higher levels of investment in the framework of our organic growth plans, and higher income tax, which is a non-cash effect due to lower inflation this year compared to 2023," indicated Gálvez.

It is worth noting that the company is in a very solid financial position to continue executing its investment plan for 2024 and also to cover other cash needs, including dividend payments and debt maturities. In addition to the cash generated by its operations, so far this year, SMU has made two successful bond placements totaling UF 2.5 million, and in January, it received approximately CLP 50 billion for the insurance compensation payment associated with damages caused during the social unrest.