Cencosud Reports Fourth Quarter Profits Up 7%, Net Income Down 35.7%

Cencosud S.A. (BCS: CENCOSUD; NYSE: CNCO), the Chile-based  retailer with presence in five countries, including Colombia, announced Friday its consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and year-end of 2014. All figures are in Chilean pesos (CLP), except where indicated otherwise, and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Variations refer to the comparison between 4Q13 and 4Q14.

• Revenues rose 7.0% driven by higher sales in all business divisions.
• Positive Supermarket same-store-sales in all five countries and greenfield operations (Department Stores in Peru and Home Improvement in Colombia).
• Gross profit rose 3.2% year-over-year and gross margin decreased 101 bps.
• Operating income decreased 4.2% in 4Q14 year-over-year. Including discontinued operations decreased 3.0%.
• Adjusted EBITDA decreased 6.9% year-over-year. Including discontinued operations dropped 5.6% explained by lower results from department stores and Argentina.
• Net profit decreased 35.7% in 4Q14 reflecting a combination of a lower operating result and a higher non-operating loss, along with higher tax expenses.